US Edition
Czech Scientists Detect Lightning on Mars from Orbit for the First Time
MAVEN detected a lightning-like radio whistler on Mars, confirming electrical discharges in the atmosphere and revealing plasma wave behavior similar to Earth’s, scientists say.
- František Němec's team reanalyzed 108,418 plasma-wave recordings from 21 June 2015 and identified a whistler signal, as reported in Science Advances.
- Mars' dusty, turbulent weather can generate charge separation from dust storms and jostling particles, leading to electrical discharges guided by crustal magnetic patches, as recent last year reports indicate.
- Recorded over a crustal field at 349 kilometers, the whistler signal lasted about 0.4 seconds, was 10 times stronger than background noise, and Mars' magnetic-field and plasma-density models matched its propagation.
- Exacting observation conditions mean localized detection conditions limit whistler propagation, but the finding implies lightning may occur more often with estimated source energy comparable to strong Earth lightning, raising astrobiological implications for prebiotic chemistry.
- Building on 'last year' sand-jostling discharge reports, MAVEN provided data confirming decades-old theoretical predictions about whistler propagation on Mars.
8 Articles
8 Articles
For the first time, a research team from the Charles University of Prague has detected a flash on Mars. The analysis of radio signals from the Maven spacecraft shows the characteristic signature.
Lightning 'Whistler' Detected on Mars For The First Time, Scientists Report
The radio 'howl' of a lightning-like discharge has been detected at Mars for the first time. While orbiting the red planet, NASA's MAVEN spacecraft recorded an unusual electromagnetic signal back on 21 June 2015. Researchers have now shown that the signal matches a 'whistler' – a dispersed radio wave produced when lightning-generated emissions travel through a planet's ionosphere. The finding suggests electrical discharges do occur in the Martia…
Czech science has proven that electrical discharges similar to lightning occur in the atmosphere of Mars. A four-member research team from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University (MFF UK) in Prague and the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (ÚFA AV ČR) made the discovery thanks to measurements by the American MAVEN probe. It has been orbiting the red planet since 2014 and provid…
NASA’s Perseverance Rover Caught Crackling Sounds on Mars. Researchers Think It Was Electricity
Two NASA spacecraft have detected different signals that point to possible lightning on Mars. One clue comes from orbit, the other from the planet’s surface, together strengthening the case that electrical discharges flicker through the Red Planet’s dusty skies. Lightning has already been observed on Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune. Mars, by contrast, has remained ambiguous territory. Its atmosphere is thin, and its magnetic field exists only in sm…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 60% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
