The sun has chased the thick atmosphere of Mars – Scientias.nl

At last we know who its thick atmosphere of Mars – and perhaps quality of life – has been stripped. The sun is the culprit!

Today, the Martian atmosphere is thin. But it was ever otherwise. Once the red planet had a thick atmosphere was warm enough for liquid water – a key ingredient for life – to enable the surface of Mars. For years, researchers ask themselves how Mars thick atmosphere is lost. “Understanding what happened to the Martian atmosphere, giving us more knowledge about the dynamics and evolution of any planetary atmosphere,” says John Grunsveld, on behalf of NASA. “Knowing how the environment on a planet changes from an environment where microbes can live in an environment where you can not, is important.”

Solar Wind

How the solar wind may create an atmosphere thinner? The solar wind is a stream of particles – mostly protons and electrons – which are at a tremendous speed from the sun in a hurry. The solar wind carries with it a magnetic field that when the “glides” along Mars can generate an electric field. This electric field accelerates electrically charged gas atoms – ions – in the upper part of the Martian atmosphere and takes care as if they are launched and disappear in the space

. sun
And now there is finally clarity about the fate of the Martian atmosphere. NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft ( Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution ) is not only out of what makes the Martian atmosphere is thinner, but also how quickly Mars gas lost in its atmosphere. From the measurements of the solar wind MAVEN shows that ensures that the atmosphere becomes thinner. The solar wind ensures that every second disappears about 100 grams of gas from the atmosphere. That may not seem like much, but over a long period, it ensures that the atmosphere loses a lot of gas.

Solar Storm
The study also shows that the amount of gas which grows escapes from the atmosphere when there is a solar storm. “We have seen the erosion increases significantly during solar storms, so we think that the loss of billions of years ago it was much bigger, because the sun was then younger and more active,” says researcher Bruce Jakosky.

MAVEN has also discovered that the atmosphere of the red planet loses gas at different places. The biggest losses are recorded in the ‘tail’, where the solar wind flows behind Mars and above the Martian poles

.