The Curiosity rover just sent NASA scientists a stunning photo of a vibrant sunset on Mars.

In particular, the NASA rover wandered the surface of Mars for more than 10 years in search of answers to the question of why the red planet turned from hot and humid into an icy desert.

The robot discovered interesting rock formations, looked for signs of life, and climbed Mount Sharp in the center of Gale Crater.

On Feb. 2, Curiosity observed the sun’s rays stretching across the horizon and illuminating the clouds as the sun sets on Mars. This is the first time these rays, known as “crepuscular rays”, have been seen so clearly on the red planet.

Study of twilight clouds

It is noted that the NASA apparatus is conducting a study of “twilight clouds” on Mars after its previous observations of nightly bright clouds. In 2021, Curiosity used its black and white navigation cameras to track the structure of these clouds as they move across Mars.

The new study, which began in January and will conclude later this month, uses Curiosity’s color camera to track the growth of cloud particles. On Mars, most of the clouds are made of ice and hover about 60 kilometers (37 miles) above the earth. However, Curiosity has noticed clouds that are reaching higher heights, as seen in the new photos, leading researchers to believe they are composed of carbon dioxide or dry ice.

Scientists are still studying these particular clouds to understand why this is happening.

Curiosity took pictures of the “alien” sunset on January 27th.

“Where we see iridescence, it means that the particle sizes of the cloud are the same as those of other clouds,” Mark Lemon, an atmospheric scientist at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, said in a statement.

Source: BBC