NASA’s curiosity Rover captures stunning twilight clouds on Mars, leaves internet in awe

NASA’s Curiosity rover has captured a rare and breathtaking sight of twilight clouds drifting across the Martian sky. These clouds, known as Noctilucent or night shining clouds, are usually seen on Earth during the summer. However, the rover has spotted them on Mars once again, adding to scientists’ curiosity about the planet’s atmosphere.

A newly released video, created from images taken over 16 minutes on January 17, shows red and green clouds floating above Mars. These clouds appear only when they form high in the sky during the evening. This is not the first time they have been observed. NASA’s Pathfinder mission first spotted them in 1997 and Curiosity recorded them again in 2019. This marks the fourth consecutive year the rover has captured this phenomenon.

According to NASA, clouds on Mars are mainly made of water ice. However, in colder and higher altitude regions, they are composed of carbon dioxide ice. Since Mars' atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide, these clouds create a striking iridescent effect. The newly captured images show them at altitudes between 60 and 80 km, while water ice clouds are visible lower at around 50 km, moving in the opposite direction.

NASA shared the stunning images on X, writing, “Cloud gazing on Mars. Mars Curiosity captured these colourful clouds drifting across the Martian sky. The iridescent carbon dioxide ice formations offer clues about Mars’ atmosphere and weather.”

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February 11, 2025

While the sight is fascinating, scientists are still trying to understand why carbon dioxide ice clouds only form in specific areas of Mars. One theory is that gravity waves, which are atmospheric disturbances that can cool the air, might play a role in freezing carbon dioxide into ice. However, more research is needed to fully understand these patterns.

Mark Lemmon, an atmospheric scientist with the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, shared his excitement, saying, “I will always remember the first time I saw those iridescent clouds and was sure at first it was some colour artifact. Now it has become so predictable that we can plan our shots in advance. The clouds show up at exactly the same time of year.”

The viral images have amazed people online, with many sharing their excitement. One user wrote, “This is really impressive. Good job, Curiosity.” Another commented, “This is really interesting.” A user simply wrote, “Mars clouds.” Someone joked, “Mars cloud moment living rent free.” Another expressed surprise, “Ooohhh clouds on Mars, never thought of that.”

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