This image may resemble an Arizona postcard, but it depicts something far more exotic: the planet Mars, as seen by NASA's Curiosity rover.
The image is a composite of 21 individual photographs taken
recently by the rover over its Gale Crater home to study a strange type of
wispy cloud. Two Earth years ago, scientists noticed that the cloud type was
forming earlier in the Martian year than expected. Curiosity was on the lookout
for the first clouds of the Martian year, and it was not disappointed. The
wispy, ice-rich clouds began dispersing sunlight in sometimes-colorful displays
beginning in late January, when the robotic sky monitor began filming them.
Mark Lemmon, an atmospheric scientist, said in a NASA
release, "I constantly marvel at the colors that pop up: reds and greens,
blues and purples." It's incredible to see something bright and colorful
on Mars.
According to NASA, these clouds appear higher in the Martian
atmosphere than the clouds that scientists regularly view on the planet.
Curiosity's structures are usually full of water ice and float about 37 miles
(60 kilometers) above the Martian surface when a cloud passes over it.
Although NASA did not identify the altitude of the clouds in
Curiosity's recent photographs, they are higher in the atmosphere. According to
the agency, the difference could be due to a different composition, such as
clouds of frozen carbon dioxide or dry ice, though experts aren't sure.
Clouds moving over the Curiosity rover on March 19, 2021.
(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS) |
A composite image shows iridescent noctilucent clouds on
March 5, 2021. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS) |
Curiosity's navigation camera spotted clouds on March 31,
2021. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS) |
Curiosity's navigation camera spotted clouds on March 28,
2021. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS) |
Scientists name the clouds noctilucent, or night-shining,
because they are at their most beautiful soon after sunset, when the final
light makes the ice crystals gleam. (Both the black-and-white navigation
cameras and the color Mast Camera on Curiosity can watch these noctilucent
clouds.)
When the cloud particles are extremely comparable sizes, as
they are when clouds are just forming and growing at the same rate, some of
these clouds appear iridescent, according to Lemmon.
Originally Published By Live Science.
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