Related papers: Auroras on Mars: from Discovery to New Development…
Magnetic interactions between a planet and its environment are known to lead to phenomena such as aurorae and shocks in the solar system. The large number of close-in exoplanets that were discovered triggered a renewed interest in magnetic…
On 4 July 2001, X-rays from Mars were detected for the first time. The observation was performed with the ACIS-I detector onboard Chandra and yielded data of high spatial and temporal resolution, together with spectral information. Mars is…
We present the first systematic study of clouds observed during twilight on Mars. We analyze images obtained by the Visual Monitoring Camera (VMC) on Mars Express between 2007 and 2020. Using an automated retrieval algorithm we found 407…
The objective of this White Paper submitted to ESA's Voyage 2050 call is to get a more holistic knowledge of the dynamics of the Martian plasma system from its surface up to the undisturbed solar wind outside of the induced magnetosphere.…
The solar surface and atmosphere are highly dynamic plasma environments, which evolve over a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. Large-scale eruptions, such as coronal mass ejections, can be accelerated to millions of kilometres per…
The southern hemisphere of Mars possesses concentrated region of strong crustal magnetic fields (CMF), which generate localized magnetic anomalies that can influence atmospheric dynamics and energy deposition in the Martian…
Uranus provides a unique laboratory to test our understanding of planetary atmospheres under extreme conditions. Multi-spectral observations from Voyager, ground-based observatories, and space telescopes have revealed a delicately banded…
The high resolution non-dispersive spectroscopy and unprecedented sensitivity of Athena+ will revolutionize solar system observing: the origin of the ions producing Jupiter's X-ray aurorae via charge exchange will be conclusively…
It is not yet entirely clear whether Mars began as a warm and wet planet that evolved towards the present-day cold and dry body or if it always was cold and dry with just some sporadic episodes of liquid water on its surface. An important…
Jupiter, Saturn, and Earth - the three planets having dense atmosphere and a well developed magnetosphere - are known to emit X-rays. Recently, Chandra X-ray Observatory has observed X-rays from these planets, and XMM-Newton has observed…
Recent findings suggest Mars may have been a clement environment for the emergence of life, and may even have compared favorably to Earth in this regard. These findings have revived interest in the hypothesis that prebiotically important…
Atmospheric electrification is not a purely terrestrial phenomenon: all Solar System planetary atmospheres become slightly electrified by cosmic ray ionisation. There is evidence for lightning on Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, and it…
Our view of the interstellar medium of the Milky Way and the universe beyond is affected by the structure of the local environment in the Solar neighborhood. Here, we present the discovery of a thirty-degree long arc of ultraviolet emission…
Jupiter's bright persistent polar aurora and Earth's dark polar region indicate that the planets' magnetospheric topologies are very different. High-resolution global simulations show that the reconnection rate at the interface between the…
Characterizing the Martian atmosphere is an essential objective to understand its meteorology and its climate. The lower atmosphere (< 40 km) and middle atmosphere (40-80 km) of Mars appear dynamically coupled at much higher levels than in…
Since planets were first discovered outside our own Solar System in 1992 (around a pulsar) and in 1995 (around a main sequence star), extrasolar planet studies have become one of the most dynamic research fields in astronomy. Now that more…
All three terrestrial planets with atmospheres support O3 layers of some thickness. While currently only that of Earth is substantial enough to be climatically significant, we hypothesize that ancient Mars may also have supported a thick O3…
Exoplanetary science continues to excite and surprise with its rich diversity. We discuss here some key aspects potentially influencing the range of exoplanetary terrestrial-type atmospheres which could exist in nature. We are motivated by…
Planetary habitability is in part determined by the atmospheric evolution of a planet; one key component of such evolution is escape of heavy ions to space. Ion loss processes are sensitive to the plasma environment of the planet, dictated…
We investigate Gravity Waves (GWs) in the lower atmosphere of Mars based on pressure timeseries acquired by the InSight lander. We compile a climatology showing that most GW activity detected at the InSight landing site takes place after…