Revealing details of the mysterious cloud that appears repeatedly on Mars

ArabiaWeather - The European Space Agency's orbital "Mars Express" devices have been able to reveal the secrets of the long, strange cloud "Arsia Mons" that baffled scientists after it appeared repeatedly in the sky of Mars for years.

What is the Arca Mons cloud?

The strange cloud Arsia Mons is a tall and bright ice cloud that extends over the surface of Mars, specifically over the Arsia Mons volcano to the Olympus Mons volcano, which is the highest mountain in the solar system (up to 20 km high), as this strange phenomenon recurs every year About the time of the southern solstice of Mars, so that a cloud forms and mysteriously fades daily for 80 days or more each time on the red planet.

The tool used to reveal cloud details

Although the presence of the cloud is not new, the task of studying it was difficult due to the rapid change in the Martian atmosphere and the orbital characteristics of the vehicles, as it is not possible for many Mars orbiting vehicles to begin observing this part of the surface until the afternoon, but I managed The Mars Express orbiter has finally given an in-depth look at the alien cloud using a special instrument, the Visual Surveillance Camera ( VMC ), which is highly accurate and has a wide field of view.

A surveillance camera has been installed on the orbiter to search for the Beagle 2 lander, a British Mars lander that has been declared lost and is believed to have crashed.

The Observation Camera ( VMC ) has been reclassified as a science camera that enabled scientists to understand this transient cloud in a way that was not previously possible, as the tool allows scientists to track clouds, monitor dust storms, explore clouds and dust structures in the Martian atmosphere, and changes in polar ice caps. Of the planet, and more.

Details of the mysterious cloud

Astronomers have used data sent by the orbiter in a recent study that has revealed new details about the elongated cloud, including its true size and details of the complex dynamics that play a role in the surrounding climate system.

For this study, astronomers used both Observing Camera ( VMC ) data and data from other instruments on the Mars Express orbiter, as well as data from other missions including the NASA mission ( MAVEN ), the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter ( MRO ), and missions. ( Viking 2 ) and the Indian Space Research Mission ( MOM ).

When scientists delved into Viking 2 mission data from the 1970s, we found that this massive cloud was partially imaged long ago, and they are now exploring its details.

(The illustration shows the life cycle of the alien cloud on Mars and the space missions that helped scientists study it, and on the right of the picture is an illustration of the length of Mount Arsia Mons and the appearance of the cloud above it)

Cloud details revealed

The researchers found that the cloud "Arsia Mons" is a huge cloud with its largest size reaching about 1,800 km in length and 93 km in width, and the cloud is formed for topographic or "urographic" reasons, which means that it is formed when the winds are pushed upwards by surface terrain such as mountains ( In this case, Mt.

The scientists also found that the cloud is very dynamic, and it forms before sunrise and then expands rapidly for two and a half hours, and can grow at an amazing speed of more than 600 km / hour, before it stops expanding, then detaches from its place of formation and expands more, until it evaporates late From the morning, compared to the clouds on our planet, the Urographic clouds on Earth are neither as large as this Martian cloud nor dynamic, which makes the Arsia Mons cloud a strangely exceptional cloud.

Now that researchers have better uncovered the life cycle and patterns of this cloud phenomenon, they can better target and monitor it.