Clouds formed on Mars 2 years ago Earth time.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, WASHINGTON — Explorer Curiosity belonging to the American Space Agency (NASA) captured images of clouds on Mars. These clouds are described as puffs of ice crystals that scatter light from the setting sun. Some of them glitter with color.
According to NASA, clouds are rare in Mars’ thin atmosphere. Clouds usually form at the equator during the coldest time of year. Scientists noticed that two years ago in Earth time, a cloud started to form earlier than expected, so this year the cloud is ready.
The photos are not only mesmerizing, but also provide new insights to the Curiosity team at NASA. The early clouds were at higher altitudes than most Mars clouds, which typically hover about 37 miles above the planet’s surface and consist of ice.
Clouds with higher elevations may have formed from frozen carbon dioxide or dry ice, NASA said The Verge, Sunday (30/5).
Curiosity provides black-and-white and color images. The black-and-white photo shows details of the wavy clouds more clearly.
However, it is the color photos taken from the cruiser’s mast camera and combined from the multiple images that are truly stunning.
Seen after sunset, their ice crystals catch the fading light, causing them to appear to glow in the darkening sky. These twilight clouds, also known as clouds noctilucent (Latin for “night shines”). Clouds grow brighter when they are filled with crystals, then darken as the Sun’s position in the sky drops below its height.
Curiosity also captured this colorful “mother of pearl” cloud image, all in pastel colors. Mark Lemmon, an atmospheric scientist with the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado said in the post NASA that the colors come from cloud particles that are nearly identical in size.
“That usually happens right after the cloud forms and everything grows at the same rate,” he explained.
Lemmon said he was amazed at the colors that appeared in these clouds; red and blue, as well as purple. “It’s really cool to see something shining with so many colors on Mars,” he said.
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