Green glow around earth and Mars
You may not have been aware that the earth is surrounded by a green glow. Meanwhile, Belgian scientists have discovered something similar around Mars.
Surprising news has been confirmed by NOMAD, a Belgian-made precision instrument on board a European satellite which has been circling Mars since 2016. It turns out that the red planet has its very own belt of green light, very similar to our own planet in fact. It is most visible on the side of the sun, at a distance of 80 km above the surface of Mars. It resembles the amazing beauty of our northern lights, with all their swirls and whirls in the pole sky on winter nights. A natural phenomenon caused by electrically charged solar particles colliding with the earth's atmosphere. A similar process takes place on Mars as well. There, the CO₂ is split by sunlight into oxygen and carbon monoxide.
Scientists from the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB) and the University of Liège have finally been able to provide indisputable evidence of the green glow, despite people suspecting it was there for forty years. All thanks to this piece of pioneering Belgian technology, plus its correct orientation on the Mars horizon. A study is also being made of the gases found in tiny quantities in the atmosphere around the planet. It is clear that these will reveal even more of its secrets.