Watching Martian Clouds Go By |
March 24, 2008 |
I was on NASA's web site the other day and came across this as it was just posted to the web. This is one of those "First in my life-time" thing that I was totally in awe for a few minutes. Below is a picture taken on Mars by one of the rovers. YES, that's clouds rolling by!!! Wow!
Opportunity turned its rover eyes skyward to observe clouds drifting overhead
that look like cirrus clouds on Earth -- featherlike formations composed mostly
of ice crystals.
By looking at the clouds, Opportunity learns about seasonal and daily weather
patterns on Mars. Scientists want to understand how water vapor is transported
around the planet. For example, on the extremely cold red planet, surface ice
warmed by sunlight can briefly turn to vapor that rises into the atmosphere and
then quickly cools to form ice crystals again, either in clouds or back on the
ground. Scientists also estimate wind speed and direction based on the movement
of the clouds. It definitely gives you the sense of what it might feel like to
sit back and watch clouds on Mars.
Image courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/ASU/Texas A&M/Navigation camera
