Iridescence Reveals the Formation and Growth of Ice Aerosols in Martian Noctilucent Clouds
Abstract Water and carbon dioxide each form mesospheric clouds on Mars. At such altitudes (40–100 km), clouds may remain sunlit for part of the night. We describe a previously unreported, visually spectacular season of iridescent, noctilucent clouds visible in early southern autumn from the Curiosit...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL111183 |
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| author | M. T. Lemmon A. Vicente‐Retortillo S. D. Guzewich M. de la Torre Juárez A. C. Innanen C. L. Campbell J. N. Maki M. C. Malin J. E. Moores |
| author_facet | M. T. Lemmon A. Vicente‐Retortillo S. D. Guzewich M. de la Torre Juárez A. C. Innanen C. L. Campbell J. N. Maki M. C. Malin J. E. Moores |
| author_sort | M. T. Lemmon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Water and carbon dioxide each form mesospheric clouds on Mars. At such altitudes (40–100 km), clouds may remain sunlit for part of the night. We describe a previously unreported, visually spectacular season of iridescent, noctilucent clouds visible in early southern autumn from the Curiosity rover's site in Gale crater. Ice nucleation begins near sunset with a narrow range of particle sizes, and the ice aerosols grow and precipitate. The iridescence, visible through three‐color imaging, arises from locally uniform particle sizes resulting from similar growth histories. Colorful fall streaks show the clouds evolving, and a scattering corona shows size uniformity over large areas. The terminator was observed on the clouds, allowing the determination of cloud altitudes and a likely CO2 composition. This is the first observation of particle size variations within individual Martian clouds, allowing a new probe of Martian cloud physics. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-41c0a8ae925b45a6844fdc6d3fc716e1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-41c0a8ae925b45a6844fdc6d3fc716e12025-08-20T03:46:58ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072024-12-015123n/an/a10.1029/2024GL111183Iridescence Reveals the Formation and Growth of Ice Aerosols in Martian Noctilucent CloudsM. T. Lemmon0A. Vicente‐Retortillo1S. D. Guzewich2M. de la Torre Juárez3A. C. Innanen4C. L. Campbell5J. N. Maki6M. C. Malin7J. E. Moores8Space Science Institute Boulder CO USACentro de Astrobiología (CAB) CSIC‐INTA Torrejón de Ardoz SpainNASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt MD USAJet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USAYork University Toronto ON CanadaYork University Toronto ON CanadaJet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USAMalin Space Science Systems San Diego CA USAYork University Toronto ON CanadaAbstract Water and carbon dioxide each form mesospheric clouds on Mars. At such altitudes (40–100 km), clouds may remain sunlit for part of the night. We describe a previously unreported, visually spectacular season of iridescent, noctilucent clouds visible in early southern autumn from the Curiosity rover's site in Gale crater. Ice nucleation begins near sunset with a narrow range of particle sizes, and the ice aerosols grow and precipitate. The iridescence, visible through three‐color imaging, arises from locally uniform particle sizes resulting from similar growth histories. Colorful fall streaks show the clouds evolving, and a scattering corona shows size uniformity over large areas. The terminator was observed on the clouds, allowing the determination of cloud altitudes and a likely CO2 composition. This is the first observation of particle size variations within individual Martian clouds, allowing a new probe of Martian cloud physics.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL111183Mars atmospheremesospheric cloudsnoctilucent cloudsiridescenceCuriosity rover |
| spellingShingle | M. T. Lemmon A. Vicente‐Retortillo S. D. Guzewich M. de la Torre Juárez A. C. Innanen C. L. Campbell J. N. Maki M. C. Malin J. E. Moores Iridescence Reveals the Formation and Growth of Ice Aerosols in Martian Noctilucent Clouds Geophysical Research Letters Mars atmosphere mesospheric clouds noctilucent clouds iridescence Curiosity rover |
| title | Iridescence Reveals the Formation and Growth of Ice Aerosols in Martian Noctilucent Clouds |
| title_full | Iridescence Reveals the Formation and Growth of Ice Aerosols in Martian Noctilucent Clouds |
| title_fullStr | Iridescence Reveals the Formation and Growth of Ice Aerosols in Martian Noctilucent Clouds |
| title_full_unstemmed | Iridescence Reveals the Formation and Growth of Ice Aerosols in Martian Noctilucent Clouds |
| title_short | Iridescence Reveals the Formation and Growth of Ice Aerosols in Martian Noctilucent Clouds |
| title_sort | iridescence reveals the formation and growth of ice aerosols in martian noctilucent clouds |
| topic | Mars atmosphere mesospheric clouds noctilucent clouds iridescence Curiosity rover |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL111183 |
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