AssetID: 54506849
Headline: RAW VIDEO: Mysterious Colourful Clouds Drift Through Mars Sky In Newly Released Images
Caption: NASA has unveiled a series of stunning new images capturing vibrant clouds drifting across the Martian sky. A recent video, compiled from images taken by the Curiosity Rover, showcases red and green-tinged clouds moving through Mars' atmosphere. The footage, recorded with the rover’s Mastcam instrument on January 17, 2025, depicts these clouds at twilight on the Red Planet. These iridescent ‘mother of pearl’ clouds have been observed before, created by sunlight scattering in Mars’ thin atmosphere - just 1% the density of Earth’s. Despite its tenuous air, Mars can still sustain clouds composed of either water ice or carbon dioxide ice. The latter, forming at high altitudes, are responsible for the striking colours. “I’ll always remember the first time I saw those iridescent clouds and was sure at first it was some colour artefact,” said Mark Lemmon of the Space Science Institute. “Now it’s become so predictable that we can plan our shots in advance; the clouds show up at exactly the same time of year.” These shimmering clouds appear in Mars’ southern hemisphere during early fall, aligning with Curiosity’s location. Annual observations have deepened researchers' understanding, yet the reason they materialise over Gale Crater - where Curiosity is stationed - but not elsewhere remains a mystery. In contrast, the Perseverance rover, operating in the Jezero Crater of Mars’ northern hemisphere, has never detected carbon dioxide clouds. Scientists suspect that atmospheric gravity waves may influence where these clouds form. “Carbon dioxide was not expected to be condensing into ice here, so something is cooling it to the point that it could happen,” Lemmon explained. “But Martian gravity waves are not fully understood and we’re not entirely sure what is causing twilight clouds to form in one place but not another.”
Keywords: feature,photo feature,photo story
PersonInImage: