Every Spring a Single Cloud Forms at one of Mars’ Tallest Mountains and Only Lasts for a few Hours

Sometimes even forgotten pieces of technology can lead to completely new science.  That was the case recently when scientists at the University of the Basque Country used an almost forgotten camera on the Mars Express to take a breathtaking video of a recurring cloud on the top of Arsia Mons.

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There’s One Cloud on Mars That’s Over 1800 km Long

A mysteriously long, thin cloud has again appeared over the 20-km high Arsia Mons volcano on Mars. Image Credit: ESA/GCP/UPV/EHU Bilbao

Mars’ massive cloud is back.

Every year during Mars’ summer solstice, a cloud of water ice forms on the leeward side of Arsia Mons, one of Mars’ largest extinct volcanoes. The cloud can grow to be up to 1800 km (1120 miles) long. It forms each morning, then disappears the same day, only to reappear the next morning. Researchers have named it the Arsia Mons Elongated Cloud (AMEC).

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