"Just inches (centimeters) in size, the electrical arcs occurred within 6 feet (2 meters) of the microphone perched atop the rover's tall mast, part of a system for examining Martian rocks via camera and lasers. Sparks from the electrical discharges - akin to static electricity here on Earth - are clearly audible amid the noisy wind gusts and dust particles smacking the microphone."
"The evidence is strong and persuasive, but it's based on a single instrument that was meant to record the rover zapping rocks with lasers, not lightning blasts, said Cardiff University's Daniel Mitchard, who was not involved in the study. What's more, he noted in an article accompanying the study in the journal Nature, the electrical discharges were heard - not seen."
NASA's Perseverance rover's microphone captured 55 short electrical discharges, labeled "mini lightning," over two Martian years, mostly during dust storms and dust devils on the windiest sols. The arcs were only inches (centimeters) across and occurred within about 6 feet (2 meters) of the microphone mounted on the rover's tall mast used for cameras and lasers. The sparks, similar to static electricity on Earth, were audible amid strong wind gusts and blowing dust. Acoustic detections provide new evidence of Martian electrical activity, but the observations come from a single instrument not designed to image lightning, and independent verification with dedicated instruments will be required.
Read at ABC7 Los Angeles
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