Earth may have been witness to a stunning aurora displays , but they are nothing compared to what can be seen on Mars . Because Mars has a very thin atmosphere , the sun 's energetic particles hit it directly and penetrate deeper creating incredibly bright and vast light shows . And their behaviour does n't always follow existing rules . Nasa scientists were recently stunned to discover aurora that reaches deep into the Martian atmosphere . Artist ’ s conception of Maven 's Imaging UltraViolet Spectrograph ( IUVS ) observing the “ Christmas Lights Aurora '' on Mars . Maven observations show that aurora on Mars is similar to Earth ’ s `` Northern Lights '' but penetrates deep into the atmosphere . Earth has a magnetic shield , known as a magnetosphere , that protects its atmosphere from radiation from the sun . Aurora take place on Earth because some of the sun 's energetic particles have managed to break through this shield . Mars , however , only has a very thin atmosphere . Its magnetosphere was lost billions of years ago turning a once watery world into the barren planet we see today . When solar particles hit the red planet , they can hit the atmosphere directly and penetrate deeper creating incredibly bright and vast light shows . Maven 's Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph ( IUVS ) also observed what scientists have named 'Christmas lights . ' For five days just before Dec. 25 , Maven saw a bright ultraviolet auroral glow spanning Mars ' northern hemisphere . Aurora , known on Earth as northern or southern lights , are caused by energetic particles like electrons crashing down into the atmosphere and causing the gas to glow . 'What 's especially surprising about the aurora we saw is how deep in the atmosphere it occurs - much deeper than at Earth or elsewhere on Mars , ' said Arnaud Stiepen , IUVS team member at the University of Colorado . 'The electrons producing it must be really energetic . ' The source of the energetic particles appears to be the sun . Maven 's Solar Energetic Particle instrument detected a huge surge in energetic electrons at the onset of the aurora . Billions of years ago , Mars lost a global protective magnetic field like Earth has , so solar particles can directly strike the atmosphere . The electrons producing the aurora have about 100 times more energy than you get from a spark of house current , so they can penetrate deeply in the atmosphere . They also made the unexpected discovery of dust about 93 miles ( 150 km ) to 190 miles ( 300 km ) above the red planet 's surface . Although the source and composition of the dust are unknown , Nasa said there is no hazard to Maven probe and other spacecraft orbiting Mars . A map of Maven 's auroral detections in December 2014 overlaid on Mars ’ surface . The map shows that the aurora was widespread in the northern hemisphere , not tied to any geographic location . The aurora was detected in all observations during a 5-day period . 'If the dust originates from the atmosphere , this suggests we are missing some fundamental process in the Martian atmosphere , ' said Laila Andersson of the University of Colorado 's Laboratory for Atmospherics and Space Physics ( CU LASP ) , Boulder , Colorado . It is unknown if the cloud is a temporary phenomenon or something long lasting . The cloud density is greatest at lower altitudes . However , even in the densest areas it is still very thin . So far , no indication of its presence has been seen in observations from any of the other Maven instruments . Possible sources for the observed dust include dust wafted up from the atmosphere ; dust coming from Phobos and Deimos , the two moons of Mars ; dust moving in the solar wind away from the sun ; or debris orbiting the sun from comets . However , no known process on Mars can explain the appearance of dust in the observed locations from any of these sources . The findings are being presented this week at the 46th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in The Woodlands , Texas . Earth may have been witness to a stunning displays of the aurora ( pictured ) , but they are nothing compared to what can be seen on Mars Because has a thin atmosphere , the sun 's energetic particles hit it directly and penetrate deeper . Nasa has only been able to detect the aurora rather capture it in an image .
Maven probe spotted ultraviolet auroral glow in northern hemisphere . What was suprising was how deep in the atmosphere aurora occurred . Dust was also found up to 190 miles ( 300 km ) above planet 's surface . No known process on the red planet 's can explain the appearance of dust clouds .