The iridescent cloud reveals new clues about ice formation in the Martian atmosphere (no little green men, sorry).

"I'll always remember the first time I saw those iridescent clouds and was sure at first it was some color artifact."

The Sun sets differently on Mars. Part of that is due to its distance from the star (an average of 142 million miles versus Earth’s roughly 93 million miles), but it also has to do with the planet’s atmosphere. A great example of the effects can be seen in the Red Planet’s noctilucent clouds.

While the sight is fascinating, scientists are still trying to understand why carbon dioxide ice clouds only form in specific areas of Mars.

The phenomenon of twilight clouds was first observed on Mars in 1997 during NASA’s Pathfinder mission. However, it wasn’t until 2019 that the Curiosity Rover captured the firs