Purple Rain on Mars

NASA's MAVEN orbiter captured a stunning purple aurora on Mars, termed "purple rain," from May 12-20, 2024. Unlike Earth, Mars lacks a strong magnetic field, allowing solar storm particles to directly hit its atmosphere, creating planet-wide auroras. MAVEN's observations provide insights into Mars' atmospheric dynamics and history, revealing significant atmospheric loss due to solar winds and unique auroral phenomena. The mission also sheds light on Mars' magnetic field behavior and the origins of its moons, Phobos and Deimos.