Detection of Martian nightglow: NO recombination bands and aurora over crustal magnetic anomalies.

Details Detection of Martian nightglow: NO recombination bands and aurora over crustal magnetic anomalies. Detection of Martian nightglow: NO recombination bands and aurora over crustal magnetic anomalies.

Dec 2005

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005agufm.p14a..07b&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2005, abstract #P14A-07

Physics

0300 Atmospheric Composition And Structure, 0310 Airglow And Aurora, 0355 Thermosphere: Composition And Chemistry

Scientific paper

The SPICAM UV spectrometer on board Mars Express has detected for the first time two types of light emissions in the night side of the atmosphere of Mars. Observations were recorded at several orbits, requiring a special "limb grazing" mode to enhance signal. The UV spectrum of this nightglow is usually composed of the (expected) Hydrogen Lyman α emission (121.6 nm), and of the γ and δ bands of nitric oxide (NO, 190-270 nm) produced when N and O atoms combine to produce the NO (nitric oxide) molecule (Bertaux et al., Science, 2005). N and O atoms are produced by EUV photo-dissociation of O2, CO2 and N2 in the dayside upper atmosphere, and transported to the night side. We found that the NO emission is brightest in the winter south polar night at the time of observations (Ls=74>X, southern winter). It offers a new way to study the general circulation mechanisms by remote sensing of the upper atmosphere from Mars orbiters. In addition of this NO night emission, an aurora was detected over a region of large crustal magnetic field anomaly (Bertaux et al., Nature, 2005), believed to be produced by electron precipitations along magnetic lines connecting the crust to the interplanetary field. The latest results concerning these two types of emissions will be reported.

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