4 ms·
unfortunately the actual article is paywalled. In the abstract they say there are 2 theories of the plume's source: 1) CO2 or H2O ice particulate reflecting s
by bsurmanski 12y ago
unfortunately the actual article is paywalled.
In the abstract they say there are 2 theories of the plume's source:
1) CO2 or H2O ice particulate reflecting solar radiation. They don't state where the particulate is coming from, but they claim the plume is likely cyclic in nature.
2) strong auroral emissions 1000x the brightness of earth's aurora. Caused by a strong magnetic anomaly.
- pavlov 12y agoTheory #2 sounds like something Mr. Data would say to explain a bright colorful swirl that the away team has just encountered. (Of course it's an optical post effect, so the actors are just trying their best to look astonished.)
- svachalek 12y agoThe BBC has a story on it, it doesn't add much to this but there are some pictures: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31491805 http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31491805
- sgt101 12y agoThe bit I like is the "both explanations defy our current understanding of Mars' upper atmosphere" Good good good !