Get the latest Science News and Discoveries

Mars’s Most Mysterious Cloud Might Be Defying Textbook Cloud Physics


It may not be as obvious, but just like Earth, Mars has seasons. And every day of every summer, an 1,800 kilometer long thin white cloud appears to the west of Arsia Mons, a 20 kilometer high extinct shield volcano. At least for a few hours, before it dissipates until it reappears the next morning. Scientists have known about this feature, which they call the Arsia Mons Elongated Cloud (AMEC), for decades, but planetary scientists have been unable to explain it using traditional atmospheric models. But a new paper, published in Nature Geoscience by a research team led by Dr. Jorge Hernández-Bernal of the Sorbonne, suggests that the cloud could be the first documented real-world example of a cloud flash-freezing out of thin air.

None

Get the Android app

Or read this on Universe Today

Read more on:

Photo of Mars

Mars

Photo of mysterious cloud

mysterious cloud

Related news:

News photo

Scientists Use Ancient Rains to Map the Possible Origin Life on Mars

News photo

JAXA's Martian Moons eXploration Mission is on its Way to Mars and Phobos

News photo

Japan launches spacecraft to mysterious moons of Mars in a bold mission to bring home soil samples