NASA Curiosity Rover Records Mars' Clouds: Where to Watch

Fans interested in the Martian sky can finally watch it on the internet. NASA just released an 8-frame movie featuring Mars and its clouds casting shadows over the terrain.

According to NASA, the images in the short clip were taken by the Mars land rover, Curiosity. The images were captured on Dec 12 last year, during Curiosity's 3,325 Martian day, or sol, of its mission.

NASA Curiosity Rover: Where to Watch Mars Clouds

Curiosity Rover tweeted the exciting news on Thursday, Feb 17. The post said its GIF was "just clouds drifting through the Martian sky." Experts further explain that the clouds are 50 miles (80 km) above Curiosity's observation point. Note that the raw photos were digitally enhanced to emphasize the clouds and shadows.

The Martian Skies: Curiosity Observes Mars

NASA emphasized that the GIF was "an 8-frame movie made using images from a navigation camera aboard NASA's Curiosity rover." They also said that a second 8-frame movie, taken by the same navigation camera, helped them solve a tricky problem about Martian Skies.

For reference, Martian clouds are very faint in the atmosphere. Since these clouds are high above the surface, researchers speculate that it is made of carbon dioxide ice. The idea might sound pretty, but this makes it extremely difficult for the Curiosity rover to detect. When compared to water ice clouds, the Martian skies will nearly be invisible in photos.

How to Observe Martian Clouds

This means researchers had to use special imaging techniques to observe the Martian skies. So they took advantage of Curiosity's excellent cameras for this unique sky watching strategy.

Researchers said that "multiple images are taken to be able to get a clear, static background," per Space. This means Curiosity was tasked to observe a section of the sky with a clear static background. After familiarizing the image, researchers were able to detect "anything else moving within the image." Note that these are the Martian clouds and shadows.

After "subtracting (the) static background from each individual image," researchers finally compiled the data. This created the animated-like movement of the clouds.

Researchers took this data as an opportunity to calculate the clouds' speed and height. They also hoped this discovery will give clues about its composition. Unfortunately, they did not elaborate on their findings.

Mars Curiosity Rover: NASA Land Rover

It should be emphasized that this whole discovery was not an easy task, especially since Curiosity's cameras aren't designed to look up at the sky.

Curiosity's space mission and its original purpose were for imaging rocks, checking landscape features, and seeking ancient signs of habitability.

Admittedly, this robot overcame expectations with its latest achievement.

Space noted that the Curiosity rover is close to completing its 10 years of exploring the Red Planet. However, it might still have a lot of discoveries to contribute to the future, so fans are recommended to stay updated.