Hundreds of Auroras Detected on Mars 13 Dec 2005 (Source:
University of California at Berkeley) Auroras similar to Earth's
Northern Lights appear to be common on Mars, according to
physicists at the University of California, Berkeley, who have
analyzed six years' worth of data from the Mars Global Surveyor.
The discovery of hundreds of auroras over the past six years
comes as a surprise, since Mars does not have the global
magnetic field that on Earth is the source of the aurora
borealis and the antipodal aurora australis. According to the
physicists, the auroras on Mars aren't due to a planet-wide
magnetic field, but instead are associated with patches of
strong magnetic field in the crust, primarily in the southern
hemisphere. And they probably aren't as colorful either, the
researchers say: The energetic electrons that interact with
molecules in the atmosphere to produce the glow probably
generate only ultraviolet light - not the reds, greens and blues
of Earth. "The fact that we see auroras as often as we