Scientists may have finally solved the mystery of how a gigantic cloud forms on Mars, stretching up to 1,800 kilometres across the planet's sky.
The cloud appears near Arsia Mons, a massive Martian volcano, every spring and summer, but scientists have struggled to explain how such an enormous cloud of ice particles can form in Mars's thin atmosphere.
Using observations from the Mars Express spacecraft, researchers found that powerful winds push moist air several kilometres upwards within minutes, cooling it so rapidly that water vapour freezes directly into ice particles.
What makes this unusual is that ice clouds normally form around tiny particles of dust, but this cloud appears to form without them, through a process previously considered unlikely to occur naturally under these conditions.
The discovery could help scientists understand unusual cloud formation on other planets, including worlds beyond our solar system.
Source: NDTV / Writer: Mhedi
$MARSCOIN
The cloud appears near Arsia Mons, a massive Martian volcano, every spring and summer, but scientists have struggled to explain how such an enormous cloud of ice particles can form in Mars's thin atmosphere.
Using observations from the Mars Express spacecraft, researchers found that powerful winds push moist air several kilometres upwards within minutes, cooling it so rapidly that water vapour freezes directly into ice particles.
What makes this unusual is that ice clouds normally form around tiny particles of dust, but this cloud appears to form without them, through a process previously considered unlikely to occur naturally under these conditions.
The discovery could help scientists understand unusual cloud formation on other planets, including worlds beyond our solar system.
Source: NDTV / Writer: Mhedi
$MARSCOIN