Wild Weather: Earth vs. Mars

space.com ^ | 07/10/07 | Dave Mosher

[KevinDavis]

In just two weeks, dust storms have obscured more than 10 million square miles of Mars' southern hemisphere.

The storms forced NASA to suspend operations of its twin Mars rovers. The biggest storm has weakened near the Opportunity rover and thickened near Spirit's location. Both rovers are gathering enough solar energy to survive and observe their surroundings, lead rover scientist Steven Squyres of Cornell University said yesterday.

Such dramatic dust storms, however, aren't the only weather phenomenon Mars has to offer. The red planet hosts clouds of ice and carbon dioxide, tornado-like dust devils, auroras and even complex jet streams--all of this, despite the fact that Mars' atmosphere is less than 1 percent as dense as Earth's.

"Mars has a similar tilt [as] Earth, so it has the same seasons Earth has with a progression of summer, fall, winter and spring," said John Wilson, a planetary scientist who studies Mars' atmosphere at the National Oceanic & Atmospheric A dministration in Princeton, New Jersey.

[KevinDavis]

[EarthBound]

Mars' atmosphere is less than 1 percent as dense as Earth's.

That can be fixed given enough time and the will to do so.

"Mars has a similar tilt [as] Earth, so it has the same seasons Earth has with a progression of summer, fall, winter and spring.

So once we get Mars from red to blue, we'll be pretty comfortable there =).

Thanks for your work Kevin.