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Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Simulation of the Planetary Interior Differentiation Processes in the Laboratory
Published on: November 16, 2013
Solar rotation effects on the thermospheres of Mars and Earth
Jeffrey M Forbes1, Sean Bruinsma, Frank G Lemoine
1Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA. forbes@colorado.edu
Abstract:
The responses of Earth's and Mars' thermospheres to the quasi-periodic (27-day) variation of solar flux due to solar rotation were measured contemporaneously, revealing that this response is twice as large for Earth as for Mars. Per typical 20-unit change in 10.7-centimeter radio flux (used as a proxy for extreme ultraviolet flux) reaching each planet, we found temperature changes of 42.0 +/- 8.0 kelvin and 19.2 +/- 3.6 kelvin for Earth and Mars, respectively. Existing data for Venus indicate values of 3.6 +/- 0.6 kelvin. Our observational result constrains comparative planetary thermosphere simulations and may help resolve existing uncertainties in thermal balance processes, particularly CO2 cooling.
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