EGU23-985
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-985
EGU General Assembly 2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Influence of Magnetic Fields on Precipitating Solar Wind Hydrogen at Mars

Sarah Henderson1, Jasper Halekas1, Jared Espley2, and Meredith Elrod3,4
Sarah Henderson et al.
  • 1The University of Iowa, Physics and Astronomy, Iowa City, United States of America
  • 2NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
  • 3Planetary Environments Lab, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA, Greenbelt, MD, USA
  • 4CRESST II, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, USA

Solar wind protons can interact directly with the hydrogen corona of Mars through charge exchange, resulting in energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) able to penetrate deep into the upper atmosphere of Mars. ENAs can undergo multiple charge changing interactions, leading to an observable beam of penetrating protons in the upper atmosphere. We seek to characterize the behavior of these protons in the presence of magnetic fields using data collected by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft. We find that backscattered penetrating proton flux is enhanced in regions where the magnetic field strength is greater than 200 nT. We also find a strong correlation at CO2 column densities less than 5.5 × 1014 cm−2 between magnetic field strength and the observed backscattered and downwardflux. We do not see significant changes in penetrating proton flux with magnetic field strengths on the order of 10 nT.

How to cite: Henderson, S., Halekas, J., Espley, J., and Elrod, M.: Influence of Magnetic Fields on Precipitating Solar Wind Hydrogen at Mars, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 24–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-985, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-985, 2023.