Image of ultraviolet-emitting winds on Mars

NASA's MAVEN spacecraft captured the first image of Mars glowing with its IUVS ultraviolet spectrometer.

Mars emits its own ultraviolet light. Photo: NASA

According toSpace, the phenomenon of Mars emitting ultraviolet light occurs when ultraviolet rays from the Sun hit the red planet, breaking down CO2 and nitrogen molecules into atoms. Winds circulating in the upper atmosphere disperse these atoms throughout the planet.

On the dark side of Mars, winds would carry these atoms to lower altitudes and collide with each other. When oxygen atoms recombine with nitrogen to form nitric oxide (NO), the process releases energy in the form of ultraviolet light.

In this image of the dark side of Mars, different colors represent different NO levels. Black is low, green is medium, and white is high. The uneven color patches and other anomalies in the image are a sign of Mars' highly unpredictable atmosphere.

"These images provide clear evidence of unusual high-altitude winds and atmospheric circulation patterns on Mars," NASA said.

"These winds control how the Martian atmosphere responds to its dramatic seasonal cycles. These first images help to further refine the model of atmospheric circulation at altitudes of 60 to 100 kilometers," NASA said.

This phenomenon has been detected in previous Mars exploration missions, butThis is the first time scientists have taken pictures.Imagetakethis 10/7announced at the Planetary Science Conference organized by the American Astronomical Society in Pasadena, California on October 19.

In addition to the self-illuminating images, MAVEN also captured images showing how ozone on Mars changes with the seasons, and how it forms above giant craters there, according to NASA.

Formation and change of ozone on Mars. Photo: NASA

The dark region is the rocky surface of the planet, the lighter regions are clouds, dust and fog. The white region at the center of the pole is frozen CO2 (dry ice). The high ozone atmosphere is shown in dark pink. The wavy edges of this region show the pattern of winds around the poles.

According to VNE