Data from: IMF control of electron aurora across Mars' crustal magnetic fields: Insights into electron sources
Data files
Sep 16, 2025 version files 1.25 GB
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3d__ful_1_t00070000_n1745129_B.dat.gz
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3d__ful_1_t00070100_n1748841_B.dat.gz
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3d__ful_1_t00070200_n1752546_B.dat.gz
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3d__ful_1_t00070300_n1756245_B.dat.gz
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3d__ful_1_t00070400_n1759942_B.dat.gz
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3d__ful_1_t00070500_n1763637_B.dat.gz
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3d__ful_1_t00070600_n1767332_B.dat.gz
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3d__ful_1_t00070700_n1771026_B.dat.gz
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3d__ful_1_t00070800_n1774720_B.dat.gz
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3d__ful_1_t00070900_n1778415_B.dat.gz
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3d__ful_1_t00071100_n1785804_B.dat.gz
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3d__ful_1_t00071200_n1789500_B.dat.gz
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3d__ful_1_t00071300_n1793198_B.dat.gz
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3d__ful_1_t00071400_n1796898_B.dat.gz
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3d__ful_1_t00071500_n1800600_B.dat.gz
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3d__ful_1_t00071600_n1804304_B.dat.gz
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3d__ful_1_t00071700_n1808011_B.dat.gz
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3d__ful_1_t00071800_n1811722_B.dat.gz
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3d__ful_1_t00071900_n1815436_B.dat.gz
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3d__ful_1_t00072000_n1819156_B.dat.gz
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README.md
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Abstract
We investigate Martian electron aurora utilizing 130.4 nm auroral observations from the Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrograph and IMF clock angle measurements and estimates from MAVEN. Analysis reveals that >5 R aurora occurrence in a given region can vary by up to a factor of seven with IMF orientation, generally highest for southward IMF and lowest for westward IMF, with higher auroral occurrence post-dusk, decreasing toward and past midnight before increasing again towards dawn. A broad diversity of IMF and local time dependence of aurora occurrence is observed across Mars’ crustal magnetic fields. The polarity of a given crustal field determines whether its field lines preferentially magnetically connect to dayside ionospheric or nightside magnetotail electron sources in the post-dusk or pre-dawn sectors. We thus establish a “source preference metric”, i.e., the excess likelihood of aurora when likely magnetically connected to the nightside versus dayside. A wide range of source preferences is observed across the crustal field features, with some showing higher occurrence for night sources, day sources, or neither, often differently when in the post-dusk or pre-dawn sectors. A generally stronger nightside source preference is found for radially inward crustal fields in the predawn sector, and for weaker outward crustal fields in the post-dusk sector. These results highlight the complex and dynamic nature of Mars’ magnetic topology in controlling auroral electron access. Future studies integrating in situ electron measurements with synoptic and limb auroral imaging will further constrain the relative contributions of dayside and magnetotail electron populations to Mars’ auroral processes.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.vt4b8gv4x
Description of the data and file structure
The 3D MHD simulation outputs span from 07:00 to 07:20 UT on November 15, 2022, with files saved at one-minute intervals.
Each file name encodes the time information in the format:
t000hhmm00_nxxxxxxx.dat.gz
The outputs are stored in ascii format, and each file contains the following plasma variables in order:
"X [R]" "Y [R]" "Z [R]" "B_x [nT]" "B_y [nT]" "B_z [nT]" "B1_x [nT]" "B1_y [nT]" "B1_z [nT]"
Of those variables, X, Y, Z: location in MSO coordinate; B_x, B_y, B_z: total magnetic field vector in MSO, and B1_x, B1_y, B1_z: induced magnetic field in MSO. The crustal magnetic field is given by the vector subtraction of the induced field from the total field.
- 3d__ful_1_t00070000_n1745129_B.dat.gz
- 3d__ful_1_t00070100_n1748841_B.dat.gz
- 3d__ful_1_t00070200_n1752546_B.dat.gz
- 3d__ful_1_t00070300_n1756245_B.dat.gz
- 3d__ful_1_t00070400_n1759942_B.dat.gz
- 3d__ful_1_t00070500_n1763637_B.dat.gz
- 3d__ful_1_t00070600_n1767332_B.dat.gz
- 3d__ful_1_t00070700_n1771026_B.dat.gz
- 3d__ful_1_t00070800_n1774720_B.dat.gz
- 3d__ful_1_t00070900_n1778415_B.dat.gz
- 3d__ful_1_t00071100_n1785804_B.dat.gz
- 3d__ful_1_t00071200_n1789500_B.dat.gz
- 3d__ful_1_t00071300_n1793198_B.dat.gz
- 3d__ful_1_t00071400_n1796898_B.dat.gz
- 3d__ful_1_t00071500_n1800600_B.dat.gz
- 3d__ful_1_t00071600_n1804304_B.dat.gz
- 3d__ful_1_t00071700_n1808011_B.dat.gz
- 3d__ful_1_t00071800_n1811722_B.dat.gz
- 3d__ful_1_t00071900_n1815436_B.dat.gz
- 3d__ful_1_t00072000_n1819156_B.dat.gz
