GoKawiilScientists model rare Martian cloud near Arsia Mons, point to untested physics
Researchers led by Jorge Hernández-Bernal of Sorbonne Université have produced the first successful computer model of the Arsia Mons Elongated Cloud, a recurring Martian formation that stretches over 1,000 miles each spring and summer before vanishing. Published in Nature Geoscience, the study suggests the cloud forms through homogeneous nucleation, a process where water vapor turns directly into ice crystals without dust or other particles to help it along.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The finding, if confirmed, would mark the first direct evidence in any planetary atmosphere of a process that has largely existed only in theory, according to the researchers. This could reshape how scientists understand cloud formation and atmospheric dynamics not just on Mars but potentially on other planets with thin, dry atmospheres.
- The Arsia Mons Elongated Cloud (AMEC) stretches over 1,000 miles and has puzzled scientists since its 2018 discovery.
- Researchers modeled its formation using homogeneous nucleation, where ice crystals form directly from vapor without particles.
- The process requires extreme conditions, including a 30°C temperature drop within 10 minutes, triggered by wind hitting the Arsia Mons volcano.
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Published there as: “The ‘Exotic Physics’ Behind a Mysterious 1,000-Mile Cloud on Mars”
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