Related papers: Auroras on Mars: from Discovery to New Development…
Proton auroras are widely observed on the dayside of Mars, identified as a significant intensity enhancement in the hydrogen Lyman alpha (121.6 nm) emission between 110 - 150 km altitudes. Solar wind protons penetrating as energetic neutral…
The first extrasolar planets were discovered serendipitously, by finding the slight variation in otherwise highly regular timing of the pulses, caused by the planets orbiting a millisecond pulsar. In analogy with the Solar system planets,…
This review presents an insight into our current knowledge of the atmospheres of the planets Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, the satellite Titan, and those of exoplanets. It deals with the thermal structure, aerosol…
This review describes the dynamic phenomena in the atmosphere of Mars that are visible in images taken in the visual range through cloud formation and dust lifting. We describe the properties of atmospheric features traced by aerosols…
We present initial analysis and conclusions from plasma observations made during the reported "Mars plume event" of March - April 2012. During this period, multiple independent amateur observers detected a localized, high-altitude "plume"…
Auroral emissions provide opportunities to study the tenuous atmospheres of Solar System satellites, revealing the presence and abundance of molecular and atomic species as well as their spatial and temporal variability. Far-UV aurorae have…
Aurorae are detected from all the magnetized planets in our Solar System, including Earth. They are powered by magnetospheric current systems that lead to the precipitation of energetic electrons into the high-latitude regions of the upper…
The aurorae of Uranus were recently detected in the far ultraviolet with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) providing a new, so far unique, means to remotely study the asymmetric Uranian magnetosphere from Earth. We analyze here two new HST…
Plasma waves in the magnetosphere scatter electrons, causing them to precipitate into Earth's atmosphere, imparting their temporal characteristics to diffuse auroras. In a case study of conjugate radar and satellite observations, we…
Detailed characterization of an extrasolar planet's atmosphere provides the best hope for distinguishing the makeup of its outer layers, and the only hope for understanding the interplay between initial composition, chemistry, dynamics &…
The composition of an atmosphere has integrated the geological history of the entire planetary body. However, the long-term evolutions of the atmospheres of the terrestrial planets are not well documented. For Earth, there were until…
UV auroral emissions from giant planets are produced by extra-atmospheric energetic particles interacting with an atmosphere. They have been observed on Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus and should be present on Neptune. Even if the mechanisms are…
This article presents a monitoring of the atmospheric dust in the south polar region during spring of martian year 27. Our goal is to contribute to identifying the regions where the dust concentration in the atmosphere shows specific…
Stellar occultations and transits occur when a planetary body passes in front of a star (including our Sun). For objects with an atmosphere, refraction plays an essential role to explain the drops of flux and the aureoles observed during…
The decay of the martian atmosphere - which is dominated by carbon dioxide - is a component of the long-term environmental change on Mars from a climate that once allowed rivers to flow to the cold and dry conditions of today. The minimum…
Planet Mars past environmental conditions were similar to the early Earth, but nowadays they are similar to those of a very cold desert, irradiated by intense solar UV light. However, some terrestrial lifeform showed the capability to adapt…
Knowledge of Mars's ionosphere has been significantly advanced in recent years by observations from Mars Express (MEX) and lately MAVEN. A topic of particular interest are the interactions between the planet's ionospheric plasma and its…
All planets and satellites of our solar system are subject to a continuous rain of material, ranging in size from specks of dust to objects the size of boulders. Upon impact, these objects deposit their kinetic energy into the incident…
Mars exploration motivates the search for extraterrestrial life, the development of space technologies, and the design of human missions and habitations. Here we seek new insights and pose unresolved questions relating to the natural…
Observations and simulations show that Mars' atmosphere has large seasonal variations. Total atmospheric density can have an order of magnitude latitudinal variation at exobase heights. By numerical simulations we show that these latitude…