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- Title
Investigation on the Impact of Solar Flares on the Martian Atmospheric Emissions in the Dayside Near‐Terminator Region: Case Studies.
- Authors
Ram, Lot; Sharma, Ritika; Rout, Diptiranjan; Rathi, Rahul; Sarkhel, Sumanta
- Abstract
Solar transient events like flares can cause sudden changes in planetary plasma and neutral environment. However, there is less understanding about their impact on the Martian emissions. Here, we present an investigation of the variability of the Martian atmospheric emissions, viz. OI 130.4 nm, 135.6 nm, CO2+ ultraviolet doublet (UVD), and CO Cameron band (CB) in the dayside near‐terminator region during solar flare events. The two X8.2 and M6 class flares during September 2017 on Mars have been selected from existing catalogs. Using data from the imaging ultraviolet spectrograph aboard the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN spacecraft, we examined limb radiance profiles. We observed a significant increase in peak radiance (∼130–140 km) for major emissions with a more pronounced impact beneath the emissions peak during flares compared to quiet time. During solar flares, for 130.4 and 135.6 nm emission, the maximum deviation in radiance beneath peak approaches ∼63% and ∼123%, respectively. Whereas, for CO2+ UVD and CO CB, it is ∼64% and ∼50%, respectively. Additionally, we have presented an average scenario of the dayside near‐terminator (solar zenith angle ∼ 70–90°) and observed a notable trend of higher percentage deviation for atomic emissions compared to molecular emissions during flares. Further, our analysis depicts a higher percentage deviation during X8.2 compared to the M6 class flare. This study underscores that during flares, higher irradiance flux and photoelectron impact drive the airglow production processes, leading to enhanced emissions. The case studies offer a novel insight into the significant influence of the varying solar flares intensities on planetary atmospheric emissions. Plain Language Summary: The Sun emits photon radiation, which arrives on Mars in nearly 12–13 min. These radiations primarily the X‐ray and extreme ultraviolet, while interacting with Mars, deposit their energy into the atmosphere, causing gases like O, CO2, and CO to brighten up in UV colors. However, sometimes the Sun bursts energy with a sudden rise in the radiation, especially X‐ray, known as solar flares, which can affect the Mars space environment, especially the UV brightness. Our study focused on how Martian UV brightness changes during different solar flares. We found a significant increase in the peak brightness around 135 km altitude, particularly affecting the lower altitude region between 90 and 120 km. This phenomenon occurs due to the increased solar radiation and electron flux during flares that deposit a substantial amount of energy into the Martian atmosphere/ionosphere. In addition, we have also examined the overall changes in UV brightness from the dayside to the near‐terminator region. We found that atomic species like O showed more significant changes in the average brightness compared to molecular species like CO2 and CO during flares. These results shed new light on how the Sun influences the Mars space environment, which is crucial for future satellite and astronaut missions. Key Points: The flares induced enhanced Martian atmospheric radiance at the peak, with a higher percentage deviation found beneath the peak altitudesDuring the X8.2 flare, the maximum percentage deviation in peak radiance is observed to be greater in magnitude compared to the M6 flareThe percentage deviation of flare mean peak radiance is observed to be larger for the atomic emissions compared to the molecular emissions
- Subjects
SPACE environment; SOLAR radiation; PHOTON emission; ZENITH distance; MANUFACTURING processes; SOLAR flares; MARTIAN atmosphere
- Publication
Journal of Geophysical Research. Planets, 2024, Vol 129, Issue 8, p1
- ISSN
2169-9097
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1029/2024JE008315