NASA rover spies the first aurora at Mars that’s visible to the human eye

This image by NASA's Perseverance shows evidence of a visible aurora on Mars on March 18, 2024. (NASA via AP)

NASA’s Perseverance rover has detected the first aurora at Mars that’s visible to the human eye, good news for future astronauts who can savor the view on the red planet.

European and U.S. scientists reported that the green aurora in the dusty Martian sky was generated by a solar storm last year and had three days’ advance notice to set aside viewing time with the rover’s cameras.

Previous auroras observed at Mars appeared only in the ultraviolet, but this one was in the visible wavelength. It resulted from a solar flare in March 2024 that was followed by a coronal mass ejection of plasma from the sun that was directed toward Mars.

These latest observations show that forecasting of northern and southern lights is now possible at Mars, allowing scientists to study space weather, said University of Oslo’s Elise Wright Knutsen , whose research appeared Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.

“While the brightness of this event was dimmed by dust, events under better viewing conditions or more intense particle precipitation might be above the threshold for human vision and visible to future astronauts,” the researchers wrote.

This was the first time an aurora had been reported from the surface of a planet other than Earth, the researchers noted. Earlier observations were made from orbit.

Launched in 2020, Perseverance has been exploring Mars’ Jezero Crater since 2021, collecting dust and rock samples for eventual return to Earth. The region, now dry but once believed to be a flowing lake and river delta, could hold evidence of ancient microbial life.

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Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press