1. Influence of Magnetic Fields on Precipitating Solar Wind Hydrogen at Mars
- Author
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Sarah Henderson, Jasper Halekas, Zach Girazian, Jared Espley, and Meredith Elrod
- Subjects
Geophysics ,General Earth and Planetary Sciences - Abstract
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 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 CO
- Published
- 2022
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