Clouds and Dust Storms on Mars
| Credit | NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems |
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Martian weather between March 5, 2018 and March 11, 2018:
The Mars Color Imager (MARCI) aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) acquires a global view of the Red Planet and its weather patterns every day. This movie shows how the weather on Mars changed during this time.
There was an uptick in dust storm activity during this week, which is typical for this time of the season. The Acidalia storm from the previous week had dissipated by mid-week. Northern Utopia and areas near the sands of Olympia were sites of storm development. At low latitudes, short-lived dust storms were observed over Syria, Noachis, Cimmeria, and just north of Hellas. Each afternoon, diffuse water-ice clouds (the white patches visible in this image) associated with the aphelion cloud belt persisted from Olympus to Elysium. Towards the end of the week, small dust storms were spotted over Aonia and a second dust cloud swept southward over northern Acidalia. Skies remained storm-free for the rovers, Opportunity in Endeavour Crater and Curiosity in Gale Crater all week.