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Flowchart83 t1_iy3qap3 wrote

Reply to comment by D3lu5ionist in I have finally completed the Solar System! No telescope and no equatorial mount. Just DSLRs, a fixed tripod, stacking and patience! by andrea_g_amato_art

Frozen CO2 on the poles. Mars doesn't have a global magnetic field so will never experience an aurora like on Earth.

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zimirken t1_iy4bcw3 wrote

Never say never. Apparently someone did the math and it would only take <100 coils around the planet and about 100 kilowatts to make enough of a magnetic field for protection.

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Flowchart83 t1_iy4bp98 wrote

I would like to see that math.

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zimirken t1_iy4dx7i wrote

It was just some random comment on reddit. I did find a discussion of the concept here though: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=45398.0

They estimated 10GW, which is a couple nuclear powerplants. By the time you're running transmartian cables, you'll have the infrastructure to make big nuke plants. The magnetic field needs to be big, not necessarily strong.

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Flowchart83 t1_iy4e83l wrote

It wasn't the concept of using a giant electromagnet that seemed off to me, it was the wattage. 10GW I can believe, 100kW I would find hard to. Also, since mars is smaller than earth and further from the sun it wouldn't need quite as powerful a field as we have.

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