Revealing the CME Impact on the Martian Nightside Ionosphere Based on MAVEN and Tianwen-1 Observations

Due to the absence of an Earth-like dipole magnetic field, the impact of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) on the Martian nightside ionosphere differs from that on Earth and is still not well understood. This study investigates the responses in the Martian nightside ionosphere to a CME event that occurr...

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Main Authors: Longhui Liu, Xinzhi Qiu, Yiqun Yu, Wudi Luo, Xin Wang, Jinbin Cao, Cunhui Li, YuMing Wang, TieLong Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adbf8b
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author Longhui Liu
Xinzhi Qiu
Yiqun Yu
Wudi Luo
Xin Wang
Jinbin Cao
Cunhui Li
YuMing Wang
TieLong Zhang
author_facet Longhui Liu
Xinzhi Qiu
Yiqun Yu
Wudi Luo
Xin Wang
Jinbin Cao
Cunhui Li
YuMing Wang
TieLong Zhang
author_sort Longhui Liu
collection DOAJ
description Due to the absence of an Earth-like dipole magnetic field, the impact of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) on the Martian nightside ionosphere differs from that on Earth and is still not well understood. This study investigates the responses in the Martian nightside ionosphere to a CME event that occurred on 2022 August 30 using observations from Tianwen-1 and Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN. The ion density in the upper Martian nightside ionosphere between 200 and 500 km decreases when two successive CMEs hit the induced Martian magnetosphere, with a brief density recovery between the two CMEs. This suggests that ion density in the Martian nightside ionosphere between 200 and 500 km decreases as the intensity of CMEs increases. The primary cause of the observed decrease in the nightside ion density is likely due to the enhanced magnetic field pressure above the Martian ionosphere during CMEs, which facilitates ion escape from the dayside ionosphere; this subsequently reduces the amount of ions transported to the nightside ionosphere, thereby leading to a decrease in ion density on nightside. Furthermore, hemispheric asymmetry is found in the ionospheric response, indicating that the crustal magnetic fields in the southern hemisphere may play a role in slowing down the reduction of ion density. This study expands the comprehensive description of the impact of a CME event on different regions of Mars and its underlying mechanisms.
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spelling doaj-art-90fb5fa19301413585eca445c6be32e42025-08-20T03:06:17ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01983210210.3847/1538-4357/adbf8bRevealing the CME Impact on the Martian Nightside Ionosphere Based on MAVEN and Tianwen-1 ObservationsLonghui Liu0https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6971-4945Xinzhi Qiu1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6237-701XYiqun Yu2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1013-6505Wudi Luo3Xin Wang4Jinbin Cao5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5637-2976Cunhui Li6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2689-9387YuMing Wang7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8887-3919TieLong Zhang8School of Space and Earth Sciences, Beihang University , Beijing, People’s Republic of China ; yiqunyu17@gmail.com; Key Laboratory of Space Environment Monitoring and Information Processing , Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Space and Earth Sciences, Beihang University , Beijing, People’s Republic of China ; yiqunyu17@gmail.com; Key Laboratory of Space Environment Monitoring and Information Processing , Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Space and Earth Sciences, Beihang University , Beijing, People’s Republic of China ; yiqunyu17@gmail.com; Key Laboratory of Space Environment Monitoring and Information Processing , Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Astronautics, Beihang University , Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Space and Earth Sciences, Beihang University , Beijing, People’s Republic of China ; yiqunyu17@gmail.com; Key Laboratory of Space Environment Monitoring and Information Processing , Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Space and Earth Sciences, Beihang University , Beijing, People’s Republic of China ; yiqunyu17@gmail.com; Key Laboratory of Space Environment Monitoring and Information Processing , Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaScience and Technology on Vacuum Technology and Physics Laboratory , Lanzhou Institute of Physics, Lanzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaNational Key Laboratory of Deep Space Exploration/School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei, People’s Republic of China; CAS Center for Excellence in Comparative Planetology/CAS Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment/Mengcheng National Geophysical Observatory, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei, People’s Republic of ChinaCAS Center for Excellence in Comparative Planetology/CAS Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment/Mengcheng National Geophysical Observatory, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei, People’s Republic of China; Space Research Institute , Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz, AustriaDue to the absence of an Earth-like dipole magnetic field, the impact of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) on the Martian nightside ionosphere differs from that on Earth and is still not well understood. This study investigates the responses in the Martian nightside ionosphere to a CME event that occurred on 2022 August 30 using observations from Tianwen-1 and Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN. The ion density in the upper Martian nightside ionosphere between 200 and 500 km decreases when two successive CMEs hit the induced Martian magnetosphere, with a brief density recovery between the two CMEs. This suggests that ion density in the Martian nightside ionosphere between 200 and 500 km decreases as the intensity of CMEs increases. The primary cause of the observed decrease in the nightside ion density is likely due to the enhanced magnetic field pressure above the Martian ionosphere during CMEs, which facilitates ion escape from the dayside ionosphere; this subsequently reduces the amount of ions transported to the nightside ionosphere, thereby leading to a decrease in ion density on nightside. Furthermore, hemispheric asymmetry is found in the ionospheric response, indicating that the crustal magnetic fields in the southern hemisphere may play a role in slowing down the reduction of ion density. This study expands the comprehensive description of the impact of a CME event on different regions of Mars and its underlying mechanisms.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adbf8bSolar coronal mass ejectionsPlanetary ionospheresMars
spellingShingle Longhui Liu
Xinzhi Qiu
Yiqun Yu
Wudi Luo
Xin Wang
Jinbin Cao
Cunhui Li
YuMing Wang
TieLong Zhang
Revealing the CME Impact on the Martian Nightside Ionosphere Based on MAVEN and Tianwen-1 Observations
The Astrophysical Journal
Solar coronal mass ejections
Planetary ionospheres
Mars
title Revealing the CME Impact on the Martian Nightside Ionosphere Based on MAVEN and Tianwen-1 Observations
title_full Revealing the CME Impact on the Martian Nightside Ionosphere Based on MAVEN and Tianwen-1 Observations
title_fullStr Revealing the CME Impact on the Martian Nightside Ionosphere Based on MAVEN and Tianwen-1 Observations
title_full_unstemmed Revealing the CME Impact on the Martian Nightside Ionosphere Based on MAVEN and Tianwen-1 Observations
title_short Revealing the CME Impact on the Martian Nightside Ionosphere Based on MAVEN and Tianwen-1 Observations
title_sort revealing the cme impact on the martian nightside ionosphere based on maven and tianwen 1 observations
topic Solar coronal mass ejections
Planetary ionospheres
Mars
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adbf8b
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