Mars Photo of the Day - Mar 25 2012

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Today's Image of Mars was taken by HiRISE in an attempt to image ice covered dunes, but it turned out that area was slightly overcast!

Just like here on Earth there are clouds on Mars! These are fairly thin clouds, so we can still make out the ice covered dunes below. The clouds are likely made up of tiny carbon dioxide ice particles, but occasionally they can be made up of tiny water particles! Unfortunately that doesn't mean that it rains on Mars, but scientists have determined that it does snow! The only problem is that they have never seen the snow touch the ground, so it can't be easily used as water by future explorers!

Clicking on this image will take you to the original high resolution image from HiRISE. Check it out!

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Mars Photo of the Day - Feb 29 2012

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Today's Image of Mars shows clouds in The Red Planet's North Polar Region obscuring the view of Mars Odyssey's THEMIS. Some of the lower portion of this image is entirely shrouded by clouds, so much so that THEMIS can't even make out the surface.

Clouds on Mars are generally 10-15km above the surface and primarily made up ofsublimated carbon dioxide ice. Occasionally the clouds will be made up of tiny water particles. That doesn't mean it rains on Mars though! 

Mars is so cold that it couldn't rain, but scientists speculate that it does snow! Scientists have only seen snow fall in the upper atmosphere a few times and have no evidence that it ever reaches the surface, but who knows! Maybe it only happens every so often, like a leap year every four years! (See how I worked that in there? Don't worry, you can hold your applause!)

Clicking on this image will take you to the high resolution image from THEMIS. [See Universe Today's caption for a subimage of this one]

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Mars Photo of the Day - Dec 26 2011

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Today's Image of Mars is an animated clip showing clouds move across the Martian sky. These images were taken over the course of 10 minutes by the Surface Stereo imager of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. The motion in this clip has been accelerated to give a better idea of the motion between images.

This image of clouds on Mars was taken on the 94th sol (Aug 29 2008) of the Phoenix Lander mission.. These clouds are water vapor that comes off the north pole during the peak of summer when it is hottest. 

Clicking on this image will take you to the original clip and associated article from NASA. 

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Mars Photo of the Day - Oct 9 2011

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Today's Image of Mars was taken by the Viking II Orbiter on June 7 1977. It shows wave clouds near the Martian south pole. These clouds result from wind passing over craters and picking up dust from the last global dust storm.

Unfortunately this image isn't as colorful or interesting as some, but it is important because it helps us to understand more about the Martian environment.

This photo of Mars links to the NASA's page for the photo.

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