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Mars Express, of the European Space Agency, has captured a photo of the suspended cloud over Arsia Mons, one of Mars' largest volcanoes. However, the scientists explained that the cloud did not come from the volcano. ( European Space Agency )
Scientists have observed a strange cloud on Mars that is so big that we can observe it with the help of telescopes on Earth.
Volcanic eruption on Mars?
The mysterious cloud, appeared more than a month ago, is located on Arsia Mons, a volcano located near the equator of the Red Planet. It extends about 930 miles.
However, despite its location, scientists believe that the cloud does not come from the volcano. It is thought that Arsia Mons is extinct; its last eruption took place about 50 million years ago or about the time the dinosaurs were extinct on Earth.
Water, ice, cloud of Mars
Instead, the European Space Agency revealed that the white band above Arsia Mons was a cloud of water ice and that it was occurring regularly in the area. According to scientists, the cloud would be created by the downwind of the airflow around the volcano. The last time Mars Express observed a similar ice – water cloud, it was in 2015.
The cloud also appeared a few days before the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere of Mars when most of the cloudy activity of Arsia Mons and other large volcanoes occurred. Is dissipated. Its appearance also changes throughout the day: longer in the morning and almost parallel to the equator.
The European Space Agency also suggested that the dust storm that invaded the red planet in a red haze in June and July would have also affected the appearance of the icy cloud. The cloud is also "sensitive" to the amount of dust in the atmosphere.
Scientists hope to be able to use Hubble Space Telescope photos during the July dust storm to study the impact of dust on cloud formation and its future impact on the Red Planet.
The Mars Express video surveillance camera took a photo of the cloud on October 10th. The high-resolution OMEGA stereo camera, as well as the on-board visible and near-infrared mapping spectrometer, also observed the phenomenon in orbit last month.
Mars Express will continue to take pictures of the water ice cloud on Mars.
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