Cloudspotting on Mars: Shapes

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Do you ever find yourself gazing up at the blue sky and the tapestries of clouds passing by--sometimes thin and wispy, other times thick and puffy, often in shapes that you could swear are objects you recognize? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to lie down in your astronaut suit on the surface of Mars and look up at clouds in the Martian sky? While no humans have done so yet, we know that clouds are a regular phenomenon in Mars's atmosphere. With the help of telescopes, orbiters, and the rovers Perseverance, Curiosity, and Opportunity's eyes, we've been able to spot them for some time. Clouds are an important area of research on Mars (and on Earth, too) because of their role in regulating the Martian climate. Clouds can reflect incoming sunlight which has a cooling effect and they can also absorb the planet's outgoing infrared radiation which has a warming effect. In fact, clouds may have played a crucial role in sustaining the warm atmosphere on early Mars that enabled liquid water to flow and carve out channels we see on the planet's surface today. On Earth clouds are made of liquid water, except for the highest clouds which are made of ice. The cold temperatures and low pressures on Mars today mean that clouds only form from water-ice and carbon-dioxide ices. The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN spacecraft uses the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph to see these clouds in the Martian atmosphere. Our goal is to map the unique cloud formations to better understand where and how they form, but we need your help!

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