Green glow detected in atmosphere of Mars: What does it mean for researchers?

Scientists’ several years of quest finally ended when European ncy's Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) detected glowing green oxygen in atmosphere of Mars. This is ‘for first time’ that this of emission is spotted in planet or than Earth where glowing oxygen can be seen on poles because  energetic electrons from hit Earth’s upper atmosphere. TGO has been orbiting Mars since October 2016 and this of emission was predicted to exist in martian planet's atmosphere for nearly 40 years. On June 15, scientists finally “found it”. 

How is this study important?

However, significance of this observation is that by studying glow of planetary atmospheres can provide an insight into composition as well as dynamic of an atmosphere. Moreover, se particles will enable scientists to kw how energy is deposited by both Sun’s light and solar wind. emissions that are seen on Earth is because of “night glow”. In or words, atoms of oxygen on planet are emitted on a specific wavelength of light which is captured “best” from an ‘edge-on’ perspective. 

study said, “Understanding properties of Mars’ atmosphere is t only interesting scientifically, but is also key to operate missions we send to Red Planet."

"Atmospheric density, for example, directly affects drag experienced by orbiting satellites and by parachutes used to deliver probes to Martian surface,” it ded.

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How did y do it?

Because faintness of glow was creating a barrier for researchers to detect similar glow on Mars, co-author of study published in Nature astromy, Ann Carine Vandaele of Institut Royal d'Aéromie Spatiale de Belgique and Principal Investigator of M, explained that y decided to “reorient UVIS nir channel to point at ‘edge’ of Mars”. It was in a similar way se emissions are captured on earth from International Station. 

refore, Vandaele, Jean-Claude Gérard of Université de Liège, Belgium, and le author of study and or scientists scanned altitudes, analysed datasets and found green oxygen emission from all of m. To enhance understanding of phemen and compare it to that on Earth, Jean-Claude explained that researchers decided to model emission. y found that it mostly produced carbon moxide or it is broken into carbon moxide and oxygen, its constituents. Moreover, se emissions are 16.5 times more intense than ultraviolet rays. 

“ observations at Mars agree with previous oretical models but t with actual glowing we’ve spotted around Earth, where visible emission is far weaker,” said Jean-Claude. “This suggests we have more to learn about how oxygen atoms behave, which is hugely important for our understanding of atomic and quantum physics.”

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