The Mohn prize is awarded to an individual or to a research group who has published excellent research related to the Arctic, who holds a leading position internationally in her/his/their field of research, and who has brought to light groundbreaking new knowledge related to nature and/or culture in the Arctic.

The 2026 Mohn prize winner will be announced at the 16th annual Arctic Futures Symposium in Bussels, Belgium, at 3:30 pm CET on Wednesday December 3^rd.

A strong geomagnetic storm in spring 2024 brought the northern lights unusually far south, as the auroral oval expanded well beyond its typical position. "I am surprised at how sparse the measurement network is, even though we know that the impacts of space weather can vary greatly from one area to another," says Doctoral Researcher Otto Kärhä from the University of Oulu, Finland.

Electric discharges have for the first time been recorded within the storms and whirlwinds of dust – known as dust devils – that sweep across the surface of Mars. Captured by the microphone of the SuperCam instrument on board NASA's Perseverance rover, the signals were analysed by a team of scientists from the CNRS, Université de Toulouse and the Observatoire de Paris – PSL, working as part of an international team. The discharges represent a major discovery with immediate implications for our understanding of the atmospheric chemistry, climate and habitability of Mars, as well as for future robotic and manned missions there. These findings are published in the journal Nature on November 26, 2025.