A European spacecraft has discovered a green glow of oxygen in the atmosphere surrounding Mars. It is the first time this bright green light has been seen around any planet besides Earth.
The spacecraft is called the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. It is operated by the European Space Agency (ESA) and Russia’s space agency.
The orbiter, which launched in 2016, is equipped with instruments designed to search for the presence of methane and other gases in the Martian atmosphere. Such gases could provide evidence of any biological or geological activity around Mars.
ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and Schiaparelli, also known as the ExoMars Entry, descent and landing Demonstrator Module, are seen here during vibration testing at Thales Alenia Space, in Cannes, France, on 23 April 2015. (ESA)
On Earth, glowing oxygen is produced when energetic electrons from space hit the upper atmosphere. These naturally appearing lights – known as the polar auroras – create a bright, green glow.
Earth’s green glow has been seen and captured in images by astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Now, for the first time, the same green glow has been observed in the atmosphere of Mars.
Jean-Claude Gérard of the University of Liège in Belgium helped lead the research. He said the discovery is important because this green glow had never been seen around any other planet. “This emission has been predicted to exist at Mars for around 40 years – and, thanks to (ExoMars), we’ve found it.”
In a statement announcing the findings, the ESA noted that in addition to light caused by auroras, the atmosphere of planets like Earth and Mars have a continuous glow, both day and night. This is caused by sunlight interacting with atoms and molecules within the atmosphere.
Shown is an artist’s impression of the ExoMars 2016 Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and Schiaparelli – the entry, descent and landing demonstrator module. (ESA)
Researchers explained that there are two likely reasons the green glow had not been observed in the atmospheres of other planets before. Either the planet surfaces were too bright to permit the light to be seen, or earlier space missions were not equipped with instruments sensitive enough to observe the glow.
To try to overcome this issue, the scientists running the orbiter’s experiments decided to change the positioning of the spacecraft’s observation instruments.
The usual positioning of the instruments was pointed directly down at the Martian surface. This time, though, the equipment was pointed in the direction of the “edge” of Mars in an effort to search for the daytime emission of oxygen.
The researchers said pointing the instruments in this direction provided a similar position to images of the green glow captured by astronauts looking at Earth from the space station.
Shown is one of the photographs of Earth’s green glow that was captured in images by astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). (Photo Credit: NASA)
Ann Carine Vandaele is a researcher at the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy and a co-writer of the study. She reported the experiments were carried out between April and December 2019. During this time, the orbiter captured scans ranging from 20 to 400 kilometers from the Marian surface twice per orbit.
Examinations of the scans found the green oxygen emission in all of them. “The emission was strongest at an altitude of around 80 kilometers and varied depending on the changing distance between Mars and the sun,” Vandaele said in a statement.
Another researcher, José Juan López-Moreno, is with the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia in Granada, Spain. He said the discovery “opens a window for the study of the behavior and photochemistry of this planet.” He added that the study provides a valuable tool to help scientists understand the interaction of solar radiation with the Mars atmosphere.
A artist rendering of the Schiaparelli Space Module and of the planet Mars is displayed on a movie screen, during an event on the occasion of the insertion of the Trace Gas Orbiter into orbit around Mars.
Miguel Ángel López-Valverde is also a researcher at the Spanish institute who took part in the study. He said the research “may be of great interest for studying the atmospheres of planets in other solar systems and searching for signs of life.”
Researchers also noted that such experiments can help uncover details about the Mars atmosphere that can be used to plan and launch future missions to the planet.
I’m Bryan Lynn.
Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from the European Space Agency, the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy and the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia. Hai Do was the editor.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
