The lack of solar wind blew up Mars' atmosphere and tripled the Red Planet's induced magnetic field

Researchers are studying space weather to improve their understanding of habitable worlds in other star systems. Last year, NASA's MAVEN probe recorded a very rare phenomenon on Mars.

Here's What We Know

Sometimes the Sun releases particles at very high speeds. When this happens, they can catch up with slower particles that were emitted earlier. This means the uneven distribution of particles leads to the formation of zones with higher or lower concentrations, which affects the atmospheres of planets orbiting the Sun.

On 26 December 2022, NASA's MAVEN probe recorded a pause in the solar wind. According to the observations, the pressure decreased by a factor of 10 and the particle density by a factor of 100. This caused the induced magnetic field and the atmosphere of Mars to expand by a factor of three. According to scientists, it seems as if the atmosphere of the Red Planet simply exploded from within.

The researchers believe that the study of similar phenomena in the solar system will provide more information for modelling atmospheric phenomena in other stellar systems.

Source: Science Alert