Mars' Magnetic Tail

  • Released Monday, February 4, 2019
  • Updated Wednesday, December 21, 2022 at 3:23PM
  • ID: 12397

Mars' magnetic tail is shaped and twisted by the solar wind.

Mars' magnetic tail is shaped and twisted by the solar wind.

The solar wind interacts with the Mars upper atmosphere, but is deflected past Earth by a global magnetic field (artist's concept).

The solar wind interacts with the Mars upper atmosphere, but is deflected past Earth by a global magnetic field (artist's concept).

The solar wind is a stream of particles, mainly protons and electrons, flowing from the sun's atmosphere at a speed of about 1 million mph.

The solar wind is a stream of particles, mainly protons and electrons, flowing from the sun's atmosphere at a speed of about 1 million mph.

Solar magnetic field lines (yellow) interact with Martian surface magnetic fields (blue), and result in reconnected magnetic fields (red).

Solar magnetic field lines (yellow) interact with Martian surface magnetic fields (blue), and result in reconnected magnetic fields (red).

MAVEN has been studying Mars since 2014, investigating the Red planet's magnetosphere and atmosphere.

MAVEN has been studying Mars since 2014, investigating the Red planet's magnetosphere and atmosphere.

For More Information

See NASA.gov



Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

Image of Martian magnetic field line interactions courtesy of Anil Rao/Univ. of Colorado/MAVEN/NASA GSFC



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