Mars Lightning
FILE - This image provided by NASA, shows a selfie of their Perseverance Mars rover, on July 23, 2024. The image is made up of 62 individual images that were stitched together.
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Scientists have detected what they believe to be lightning on Mars by eavesdropping on the whirling wind recorded by NASA's Perseverance rover. A French-led team reported Wednesday that the crackling of electrical discharges was captured by a microphone on the rover. The researchers examined 28 hours of audio recordings, documenting 55 episodes of what they consider to be “mini lightning” over two Martian years. Almost all of them occurred during dust storms or dust devils. Lightning has already been confirmed at Jupiter and Saturn, and has long been suspected at Mars.