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Astronomy Picture of the Day - Ice Clouds over a Red Planet
NASA ^ | 3 Dec, 2024 | Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, Kevin M. Gill; Processing: Rogelio Bernal Andreo

Posted on 12/03/2024 12:56:55 PM PST by MtnClimber

Explanation: If you could stand on Mars -- what might you see? You might look out over a vast orange landscape covered with rocks under a dusty orange sky, with a blue-tinted Sun over the horizon, and odd-shaped water clouds hovering high overhead. This was just the view captured last March by NASA's rolling explorer, Perseverance. The orange coloring is caused by rusted iron in the Martian dirt, some of which is small enough to be swept up by winds into the atmosphere. The blue tint near the rising Sun is caused by blue light being preferentially scattered out from the Sun by the floating dust. The light-colored clouds on the right are likely composed of water-ice and appear high in the Martian atmosphere. The shapes of some of these clouds are unusual for Earth and remain a topic of research.


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; nasa
To be added or removed from the Astronomy Picture of the Day ping list please send me a request via "Private Reply" (Mail).

For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.

1 posted on 12/03/2024 12:56:55 PM PST by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

2 posted on 12/03/2024 12:57:12 PM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 4everontheRight; A Navy Vet; A_perfect_lady; abb; AFB-XYZ; AFPhys; ...
Pinging the APOD list

🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔

3 posted on 12/03/2024 12:58:00 PM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

Those rovers really are bad ass.

You gotta give credit where due and NASA and all those involved did a great job with those.


4 posted on 12/03/2024 1:14:40 PM PST by Red6
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To: MtnClimber

Wow.


5 posted on 12/03/2024 1:15:02 PM PST by No name given ( Anonymous is who you’ll know me as)
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To: MtnClimber
The shapes of some of these clouds are unusual for Earth and remain a topic of research.

We often see clouds like that on earth. We call them Mare's Tails, formerly, Cirrus Uncinus.

6 posted on 12/03/2024 1:26:10 PM PST by Alas Babylon! (Repeal the Patriot Act; Abolish the DHS; reform FBI top to bottom!)
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To: MtnClimber

“water clouds hovering high overhead.”

so there is water on Mars...


7 posted on 12/03/2024 1:37:10 PM PST by Chode (there is no fall back position, there's no rally point, there is no LZ... we're on our own. #FJB)
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To: MtnClimber

how is it there can be water ice clouds with no evidence of water evaporation points? whered the vapor come from?


8 posted on 12/03/2024 1:38:48 PM PST by sit-rep
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To: Alas Babylon!

And the rainbow colors are produced by ice crystals acting as prisms.


9 posted on 12/03/2024 1:44:43 PM PST by SkyDancer ( ~ Am Yisrael Chai ~)
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To: MtnClimber

bttt


10 posted on 12/03/2024 2:39:53 PM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion, or satire, or both.)
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To: MtnClimber

I hear democrats want to flip the planet blue. Better visit soon!


11 posted on 12/03/2024 3:01:09 PM PST by Larry Lucido (Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)
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To: sit-rep

Sublimation off the ice caps, for one. Excellent article, here:

https://marsed.asu.edu/mep/water#:~:text=Like%20Earth,%20Mars%20today%20has,lies%20underground%20in%20the%20subsurface.


12 posted on 12/03/2024 4:06:22 PM PST by Paul R. (Bin Laden wanted Obama killed so the incompetent VP, Biden, would become President!)
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To: Paul R.

btt!


13 posted on 12/03/2024 4:32:52 PM PST by sit-rep
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