Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2024 December 3 [2]Ice clouds are seen over the surface of Mars on the upper right. Toward the lower left is a bright spot in the sky which is likely the Sun setting through Martian dust. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Ice Clouds over a Red Planet Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]JPL-Caltech, [5]Kevin M. Gill; Processing: [6]Rogelio Bernal Andreo Explanation: If you could stand on Mars -- what might you see? You might look out over a [7]vast orange landscape covered with rocks under a dusty orange sky, with a blue-tinted [8]Sun setting over the horizon, and odd-shaped water clouds hovering high overhead. This was just [9]the view captured last March by NASA's rolling explorer, [10]Perseverance. The [11]orange coloring is caused by [12]rusted iron in the Martian dirt, some of which is small enough to be [13]swept up by winds into the atmosphere. The blue tint near the setting Sun is caused by [14]blue light being preferentially scattered out from the [15]Sun by the floating dust. The light-colored clouds on the right are likely composed of [16]water-ice and appear high in the [17]Martian atmosphere. The shapes of some of these clouds are [18]unusual for Earth and remain a topic of research. Tomorrow's picture: driveway sunspots __________________________________________________________________ [19]< | [20]Archive | [21]Submissions | [22]Index | [23]Search | [24]Calendar | [25]RSS | [26]Education | [27]About APOD | [28]Discuss | [29]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [30]Robert Nemiroff ([31]MTU) & [32]Jerry Bonnell ([33]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [34]Specific rights apply. [35]NASA Web Privacy, [36]Accessibility, [37]Notices; A service of: [38]ASD at [39]NASA / [40]GSFC, [41]NASA Science Activation & [42]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2412/MarsClouds_Perseverance_2048.jpg 3. https://www.nasa.gov/ 4. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ 5. https://apoapsys.com/about 6. https://www.facebook.com/DeepSkyColors/ 7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180404.html 8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200802.html 9. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1108810870821013 10. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-2020-perseverance/ 11. https://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/ask/69-Why-is-Mars-reddish 12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rust 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231107.html 14. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/blue-sky/ 15. https://science.nasa.gov/sun/ 16. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/mars-water-ice-clouds-are-key-to-odd-thermal-rhythm/ 17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Mars 18. https://bgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/scared-surprised-cat-face.jpg 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241202.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 23. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 25. https://apod.com/feed.rss 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 28. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=241203 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241204.html 30. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 31. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 32. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 33. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 35. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 36. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 37. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/ 38. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 39. https://www.nasa.gov/ 40. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 41. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 42. http://www.mtu.edu/