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However, by looking at the archival footage, the researchers soon realized that this phenomenon had been repeated on Mars for some time, Science Alert writes.
Every few years, in spring or summer, this interesting cloud would return until it disappeared again. The Mars cloud was captured in 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018, and 2020.
A recently published study has now explained in detail the reasons why this giant cloud continues to appear on the surface of Mars. The researchers compared observations that had been made since the 1970s.
Scientists report that this cloud helps form in the southern hemisphere of Mars in spring or early summer.
At dawn, the dense air of the Arsia Mons volcano begins to rise into the air on the western slope. As the temperature drops, this air mass expands and the moisture it contains condenses around the dust particles, creating what on Earth we call an orographic cloud.
Scientists observed this process repeating itself every morning in the atmosphere of Mars. At an altitude of about 45 kilometers, the air begins to expand and for about 2.5 hours a cloud of wind drags west at a speed of up to 600 kilometers per hour until it finally separates from the volcano.
The cloud can reach up to 1,800 kilometers in length and 150 kilometers in width. But at noon, when the Sun is at its peak, the cloud completely evaporates without a trace.
However, if this phenomenon occurs at certain times of the year every day, why do we only have rare observations of it?
According to the researchers, this is because many satellite cameras orbiting Mars only occasionally fly over the region in the morning, and location-specific observations are planned, so this cloud was previously captured by chance.
Astronomer Agustín Sánchez-Lavega argues that understanding this cloud can restore the patterns of its formation, which will improve people’s knowledge of the climate systems of Mars and Earth.
Now that we know when and where this cloud is emerging, scientists will be able to point more professional and modern cameras at it, providing an opportunity to learn more about this phenomenon.
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