Mars Craft Detects Falling Snow

Mars Craft Detects Falling Snow

Soil Tests Also Hint at Past Presence of Liquid Groundwater

Icy snow falls from high in Mars's atmosphere and may even reach the planet's surface, scientists working with NASA's Phoenix lander reported yesterday.

Laser instruments aboard the lander detected the snow in clouds about 2 1/2 miles above the surface and followed the precipitation as it fell more than a mile. But because of limitations with the technology, it was unclear whether any of the powdery stuff made it all the way to the surface.

"Nothing like this view has ever been seen on Mars," said Jim Whiteway of York University in Toronto, lead scientist for the Canadian-supplied Meteorological Station on Phoenix. "We'll be looking for signs that the snow may even reach the ground."

Cool.

That is way cool. So wouldnt that mean mars has to have an atmosphere for snow to form above the surface? I thought they didnt have an atmosphere.

[edit on 29-9-2008 by justsomeboreddude]

Originally posted by justsomeboreddude
That is way cool. So wouldnt that mean mars has to have an atmosphere for snow to form above the surface? I thought they didnt have an atmosphere.

[edit on 29-9-2008 by justsomeboreddude]

No it all ways had and atmosphere were just looking for the water. We know it was there trying to find out where it went.

reply to post by justsomeboreddude


Mars has a atmosphere, it's thinner than ours, but it's why in some photos of Mars you can get a light (much lighter than ours) blue sky.
I'm not as surprised it snows there as I was at first, when I thought about it.
Now if it rained, that'd be amazing.

Wow, live and learn. I guess I should have looked into it. Thanks for the info.

Of course snow and precipitation would be needed for the forests and green plant life evident:

www.marsanomalyresearch.com...

That is Japan, and now this is mars:

Also, compare this from earth:

The above Earth based second image is an aerial view of a forest canopy in Virginia Beach here in the USA. Note the variety of tree tops where the sunlight is reflecting strongly off of the branching's with the least leafy growth on them. Note the look of those light reflective branching's. The parallel with the Mars evidence branching's should be obvious to most of you. The only real difference is the massive size scale of the Mars evidence relative to this tiny by comparison Earth evidence. This image was sent to me by Calvin Lipscomb ([email protected]) recognizing the similarities with the Mars evidence and the help is appreciated.

with:

Mars.

reply to post by mystiq

Ok I think you just jumped the shark. I will believe there are forests on mars when they show me some pictures of trees on mars.

Just did. Comparison forests on earth on mars. Its very clear to see.

Okay, I'm really confused. They have the tech to locate snow 2 and 1/2 miles in the sky and the tech to follow it down a mile, WHY in the world (or mars in this case) wouldn't they be able to follow it? Battery ran out or something? Lack of technology is the stupidest excuse I have ever heard in my life.

Nonetheless, great news!! Things are shaping up for this mars scenario!

reply to post by screamo


Perhaps because, as it falls, it sublimates (evaporates). The particles get smaller and smaller until they get too small for the lidar to track.

Little by little the information trickles from the "official" sources
I'm sure there is something on mars other than rocks and sand, we will soon find out.

I do not buy the whole "limitations of the technology", imagine the real resolutions of the cameras they have in the rovers, just like in the hotly debated thread of the McMoon, the material was classified because of security reasons of not wanting to disclose the real resolution of the optics they had back then for the moon.

This may also be the case, who knows what other "sensitive" technologies it may have, who knows what amazing date we are not allowed to see...

Thanks for the Info OP!

reply to post by Phage


Okay, well that makes sense. I totally didn't put snow melting in the picture! (that wasn't sarcasm although it probably reeked of it). Thanks for the easy eye opener!!