Scientists 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.