Mars has a very thin atmosphere compared to Earth’s atmosphere, but Mars has seasons and clouds like Earth. Several of the Mars Orbiters have collected data that allows scientists to combine and understand more about the clouds. Water-ice clouds and carbon-dioxide ice clouds are the types of clouds found on Mars. There is a correlation between what types of clouds are seen in specific locations based on the season that Mars is in. Mars data from the NASA Citizen Science Project in MY29 was split into 3 sets called the Clear Season (Ls= 0 to 140 degrees), another season in between (Ls= 150 to 230 degrees), and the Dusty Season (Ls= 180 degrees to 328 degrees). Each set has its own cloud characteristics. It is found that in the clear season, clouds are most often in the equatorial region. In the mid-range between the clear and dusty season, daytime clouds are found normally in the mid-latitudes and night-time clouds are seen in the equatorial region. In the dusty season, clouds are frequently found in the northern hemisphere and at night are primarily in the southern mid-latitudes to northern mid-latitudes. We are analyzing the data to visually understand the similarities between seasons. New information can give insight into the composition of the clouds as well as understanding thermal tides and gravity waves for temperature drops.
Understanding the Martian Atmosphere and Seasons Using and Analyzing Martian Cloud Data
Category
Student Abstract Submission