MYSTERIOUS new auroras discovered on Mars in UAE's Hope probe

Auroras are dancing waves of light like the northern lights seen on Earth. They appear on a planet when solar activity disturbs its atmosphere. 

Dubai: Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) probe, Hope, has captured stunning images of Mars' enigmatic auroras that will provide new insights into the interactions between the Red Planet's atmosphere, its magnetic fields and the solar wind. Auroras are dancing waves of light like the northern lights seen on Earth which have captivated people for millennia. They appear on a planet when solar activity disturbs its atmosphere. The latest observations by EMM include a never-before-seen phenomenon, dubbed the 'sinuous discrete aurora' -- a huge worm-like aurora that extends halfway around the Red Planet.

"When we first imaged Mars' discrete aurora shortly after the Hope probe's arrival at Mars in 2021, we knew we had unveiled new potential to make observations never before possible on this scale, and we took the decision to increase our focus on these auroras," said EMM Science Lead, Hessa Al Matroushi. "We can obtain nearly whole-disk, synoptic snapshots of the atmosphere to investigate atmospheric phenomena and interactions. It means we are seeing discrete auroral effects on a massive scale and in ways we never anticipated," Matroushi said in a statement.

Emirates Mars Mission Discovers New Mysterious Martian Aurora Observations of a stunning new type of Martian aurora by EMM’s Hope probe open up new areas for investigating Mars’ highly dynamic plasma environment pic.twitter.com/LrikqPxQDI

— UAEGOV (@UAEmediaoffice) April 28, 2022