Iridescence Reveals the Formation and Growth of Ice Aerosols in Martian Noctilucent Clouds

Abstract Water and carbon dioxide each form mesospheric clouds on Mars. At such altitudes (40–100 km), clouds may remain sunlit for part of the night. We describe a previously unreported, visually spectacular season of iridescent, noctilucent clouds visible in early southern autumn from the Curiosity rover's site in Gale crater. Ice nucleation begins near sunset with a narrow range of particle sizes, and the ice aerosols grow and precipitate. The iridescence, visible through three‐color imaging, arises from locally uniform particle sizes resulting from similar growth histories. Colorful fall streaks show the clouds evolving, and a scattering corona shows size uniformity over large areas. The terminator was observed on the clouds, allowing the determination of cloud altitudes and a likely CO 2 composition. This is the first observation of particle size variations within individual Martian clouds, allowing a new probe of Martian cloud physics.

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Publication Details

Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Published
2024-11-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2024gl111183
Primary Topic
Planetary Science and Exploration
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Iridescence Reveals the Formation and Growth of Ice Aerosols in Martian Noctilucent Clouds

M. T. Lemmon, J. N. Maki, Charissa Campbell, Manuel de la Torre Juárez et al.
Geophysical Research Letters
Planetary Science and Exploration
article

Iridescence Reveals the Formation and Growth of Ice Aerosols in Martian Noctilucent Clouds

M. T. Lemmon, J. N. Maki, Charissa Campbell, Manuel de la Torre Juárez, Á. Vicente‐Retortillo, Scott D. Guzewich, M. C. Malin, John E. Moores, A. C. Innanen
article en

Abstract

Abstract Water and carbon dioxide each form mesospheric clouds on Mars. At such altitudes (40–100 km), clouds may remain sunlit for part of the night. We describe a previously unreported, visually spectacular season of iridescent, noctilucent clouds visible in early southern autumn from the Curiosity rover's site in Gale crater. Ice nucleation begins near sunset with a narrow range of particle sizes, and the ice aerosols grow and precipitate. The iridescence, visible through three‐color imaging, arises from locally uniform particle sizes resulting from similar growth histories. Colorful fall streaks show the clouds evolving, and a scattering corona shows size uniformity over large areas. The terminator was observed on the clouds, allowing the determination of cloud altitudes and a likely CO 2 composition. This is the first observation of particle size variations within individual Martian clouds, allowing a new probe of Martian cloud physics.

Geophysical Research LettersVol. 51(23)
Space Science Institute (US), Goddard Space Flight Center (US), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US), University of America (US), York University (CA), Malin Space Science Systems (United States) (US), Centro de Astrobiología (ES), Catholic University of America (US)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, California Institute of Technology, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Agencia Estatal de Investigación
Life below water
Openalex Percentile: Top 84%
Planetary Science and Exploration
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