What's new in the mars
HIGHLIGHTS
Rainbows aren't possible on Mars since there isn't enough water.
On Mars, water droplets are 20 times smaller than a human hair.
To make a rainbow, the droplets must be at least ten times larger.
Why in news
Is it true that there are rainbows on Mars? In the most recent edition of its 'Ask The Expert' series, NASA opted to answer these queries. The video, which was shared on Instagram, shows Mark Lemmon, a planetary scientist and Mars expert with the US space agency . 'No,' is the answer. However, there are certain situations on Mars that are comparable to those on Earth. The production of a rainbow, according to Lemmon, takes more than simply water. Rainbows arise when sunlight travels through a spherical droplet, reflects off its back, and returns to the human eye, generally after rain.
Water droplets, according to Lemmon, are required for rainbow formation since they are spherical. There aren't enough water droplets on Mars. The tiny droplets observed on Mars are 20 times smaller than human hair and 10 times smaller than those found in Earth's clouds, according to the expert. To make a rainbow, the droplets must be at least 10 times larger, according to Lemmon, who also noted that while snow may be found in Martian clouds, it is useless for forming rainbows.
So, what was that arcing across the dusty Martian sky that the Perseverance rover spotted in early April? NASA refuted the theory after much discussion on social media, claiming that the arc was caused by a lens flare. There isn't enough water on Mars to condense, and it's too cold for liquid water in the atmosphere to condense into spherical water droplets, according to NASA. In the video, Lemmon also mentioned this occurrence. While there are no rainbows on Mars, the red planet does have several Earth-like features such as clouds, storms, and winds.
NASA PERSEVERANCE FOUND SOMETHING WEIRD
NASA's Resilience Since its landing on the Red Planet in February of this year, the Mars rover has provided us with a slew of new findings. Researchers are coming to comprehend that the Jezero Crater was produced from red-hot lava, potentially from a long-dormant Martian volcano, after nearly ten months of driving around it. This discovery, NASA experts think, will lead to a deeper understanding of the planet's past. According to NASA, the crater rocks appear to have interacted with water multiple times since their formation. These rocks also contain some organic compounds.
Even before Perseverance landed on Mars, NASA's scientific team speculated about the origins of these rocks. Scientists are trying to figure out if the rocks are sedimentary or igneous. They appear to be getting closer to their solutions now. The statement was made over Twitter by the US space agency. 'The bedrock of Mars's Jezero Crater, through which NASA's Persevere has rolled for nearly ten months, appears to have been created from red-hot lava — potentially from a long-dormant Martian volcano,' according to the report. Even before Perseverance landed on Mars, NASA's scientific team speculated about the origins of these rocks. Scientists wonder if the rocks were sedimentary.
'I was beginning to think we would never uncover the solution,' Perseverance project scientist Ken Farley of Caltech in Pasadena stated. 'But then our PIXL instrument got a good look at the abraded section of a rock from the location termed 'South Sétah,' and everything became clear: The crystals within the rock gave the smoking gun,' he continued.
The Perseverance's advertisements The drill on the robotic arm of the rover can abrade a few inches into rock surfaces to assess their composition. The robot's Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL) then maps the elemental composition of the drilled rocks using X-ray fluorescence. The rover took a core sample from a rock in the South Sétah area last month. The rock was extremely rich in massive olivine crystals that were encased in pyroxene crystals, according to the PIXL data . 'Such a texture implies the rock developed as crystals grew and settled in a slowly cooling magma — such as a thick lava flow, lava lake, or magma chamber,' Farley noted. Scientists are still trying to figure out if the rocks were produced by lava cooling on the surface or in a subterranean chamber that was subsequently uncovered by erosion.
