Mars gets hazy!!!

a reply to: thepitpony

did it look like something akin to this ?



funbox

This was my first thought when I saw the photograph.

originally posted by: TheDon
Just to throw an idea out there if it has not been mentioned.

Could it be the result of a volcanic eruption?

It does show some resemblance to images caught off a volcano erupting on Io, one off Jupiter's moons.

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft zipped past Jupiter and caught this image of Io, the planet’s third-largest moon, as a volcano was erupting on the surface. The plume emanating from the Tvashtar volcano is 200 miles high.

Source

it sure looks very simuliar, and might explain why it has only been seem 2 times.

peace

a reply to: funbox

Yes it did , thank you for putting that up (have to work on my IT skills). Would a large storm on Mars throw up material like this in to the atmosphere?

a reply to: thepitpony

well supposedly the atmosphere mass is only dense enough to carry 2 microns, but ive seen a few pictures of dust devils , that appear quite dense , but then they could be filled with particles of such size , other kinetic events can lift bigger materials into the atmosphere still , volcanoes , meteorite , rovers , spear wielding blue-its .. but the atmosphere seems to be poor at it , or so it is said

funbox

I doubt that its a volcanic eruption. The 'cloud' appears to change shape and they said its way too high in the atmosphere.

Current theories are that its some kind of a aurora-like magnetic field effect.

originally posted by: okachobi
I doubt that its a volcanic eruption. The 'cloud' appears to change shape and they said its way too high in the atmosphere.

Current theories are that its some kind of a aurora-like magnetic field effect.

The "clouds" -- if that is indeed what they were -- were seen at high altitude, at about 200-250 kilometres, roughly above Terra Cimmeria, which is part of Mars' rugged southern highlands, according to the paper.

Source

Take notice of the height.

Then we have this:

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft zipped past Jupiter and caught this image of Io, the planet’s third-largest moon, as a volcano was erupting on the surface. The plume emanating from the Tvashtar volcano is 200 miles high.

Source

200 miles = 321 kilometers

So the height is not that far off, and lets not forget that the figures are just estimates.

Plus we are talking theories here right, nobody seems to know.

But hey, is is just an idea, what would I know, not been to Mars

peace

originally posted by: Phatdamage
MMmmmmm, very interesting

maybe a meteorite strike?

I dont think it was a strike as it vanished and reappeared...

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: Christosterone

The BBC article is sparse and not scientific

It is uncommon for consumer media to get science right. Fortunately, there is a cure for that.
dx.doi.org...


The association with Mars' terminator is interesting. It brings to mind a phenomenon which is thought to occur on the Moon, an electrostatic event caused by sunlight, the lofting of lunar dust to high altitudes. The upper left image of the collage bears a resemblance to sketches made by Apollo astronauts. The authors of the paper don't seem to consider the possibility of something similar while the article linked below suggests that the electrostatic environment of Mars and the Moon may have strong similarities, including the possibility of lofting of dust at the terminator. One thing for sure, Mars is a different planet and there is a lot we don't know about its atmosphere. Much, much more to learn.


iopscience.iop.org...

I remember the endless debates about one of the astronauts on the moon claiming to see the "sunrise" prior to seeing the sun.
This was thought impossible on the moon as it lacked any semblance of an atmosphere sufficient to refract light in lead of a sunrise.
Turns out it was true and due to the dust particle ascention into high orbit in an electrical event. VERY COOL

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: CryHavoc

Mars' atmosphere would be much less. Whatever is in that image is partly outside of Mars' atmosphere.

You seem to be talking about the Karman line (at 100km). Earth's atmosphere actually extends beyond that. But because of Mars' low gravity, its atmosphere actually extends further than Earth's. It is not as dense but it is "deeper".

Thanks for the clarification!

originally posted by: GoShredAK
a reply to: CryHavoc

It seems you are measuring millimeters and converting them to miles.

km is kilometers. Not millimeters.

Looks pretty crazy.

While science can state quite categorically that something shouldn't/can't happen, we'll not actually know the cause until we've set foot on the planet and seen for ourselves.

There does seem to be a lot of 'out of character' activity occurring in our solar system lately, which is pretty interesting.

originally posted by: Rocker2013
a reply to: Christosterone

I think it's fascinating.

But it does also remind me of the often arrogant nature of the scientific community.

On the one hand I fully accept that belief and "fact" is based on all available evidence, but the vehemency with which so many hold to their beliefs, at the expense of discovery and advancement, is worrying to me.

Reading some of the opinions about it is shocking. Even though there is evidence right there for us all to see (going back to 2012), and although it's most plausibly indicative of Aurora, Magnetic fields or even a hint of an atmosphere they didn't think existed (at that level) there is still absolute rejection by some.

That's what this suggests though, isn't it? There is clearly something going on here, clearly it shows that there is something about the atmosphere which contradicts what science has believed for decades.

Like I said though, fascinating, and it shows that what we thought we knew about Mars may have been wrong, and there are obviously still going to be a lot of surprises in store for us too.

And yes, I also agree that the notion of life on Mars is not so far fetched. Even in the most extreme places on Earth, where we once thought no life could possibly exist, it does, and it thrives.

It never ceases to amaze me our hubris when speculating about life's unbelievable ability to, well, exist!
I remember vividly the first images that came back from the thermal vents resting at the bottom of our oceans teeming with life which threw biologists and scientists alike for a loop.
Temperatures and water constitution at these sites were here-to-for thought utterly hostile to life. Yet there it was.
Space, like our earth, contains extremophile life and I have no doubt.
Again, drawing from my own memory: do you remember where you were when President Clinton held a conference softly alluding to our discovering lifelike fossil remains in a martian meteor?
While the claim was subsequently scoffed at in the science community, I still remember those first few days of excitement. I was walking on air.
Our sun will eventually engulf the earth. Evolution has instilled in us the fix for this unavoidable extinction. Wanderlust!
We are hard wired to cross the expanses of the unknown. The shores are the refuge for the timid and meek.
As Columbus sailed ever westward, we must sail into the vastness of space despite reservations of the timid and meek.

Sometimes you have to sail off the end of the world!

a reply to: Phage

This is a complete sidebar: i would rather not discuss my credentials but will say my wife is an MD...I am accustomed to being around very smart people.
You are among the highest order in my book and it is a very small book...
The insight you provide on subject after subject is a driving force in why I come to ATS.
Thank you!
-Christosterone