Clouds=water=possible life on mars?

I was not aware of this untill now, but apparently mars has clouds. Dosen't this prove there is in fact water on mars? if there are clouds there must be rain, what goes up must come down. sorry i dont know how to post images/videos but it is on the main site here the title is "Watching Martian Clouds Go By"

marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov...

I am not 100% sure, just thought I would bring it to everyones attention.

please reply and let me know what u think.

Yes, there are clouds on mars, usually very whispy and not very moisture laden. Not all clouds produce rain, in fact, only a couple of types of clouds offer rain, these being nimbostratus and cumulonimbus. The clouds that form on mars don't appear to be of either of these types. Also, the air in mars is far too cold for rain to fall, as rain is very temperature dependant.

It is believed that the clouds are formed from the trace amounts of water in the atmosphere freezing at night when it is extremely cold, and they soon disipate when the sun rises thawing the ice. However, the amount of water in the atmosphere is nowhere near what would be required to cause rain.

[edit on 8-4-2008 by sensfan]

reply to post by sensfan


Thanks a lot for the clarification, it just struck me as kind of odd. I guess you learn something new everyday lol