Flow of Plasma Ejected by Sun Was Directed Toward Mars

Powerful ejection of plasma at the Sun, which took place on Saturday, on Wednesday could reach Mars, where will cause a strong polar auroras, which might be even at the equator. Coronal emission was observed by solar observatory SOHO on October 22 around 16:00 GMT. The flow of plasma ejected by the Sun, was directed toward Mars and according to calculations should reach the red planet on Wednesday. Unlike Earth, Mars has no global magnetic field, which is like a cocoon wrapped to the entire planet. The surface of Mars is nestled by magnetic umbrellas only in some places. When a stream of charged particles reaches the planet, magnetic storms occur only where there is a magnetic field. 

During such storms tops of umbrellas are starting to shine brightly in the ultraviolet range. Many researchers believe that it is the weakness of the magnetic field of Mars led to the fact that most of its atmosphere has disappeared under the influence of the solar wind.
source:www.ria.ru