2023-06-26 16:37:39
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States, better known as NASA, published impressive images of Mars in the ultraviolet spectrum.
These are two photographs captured by the mission MAVEN (Atmosphere of Mars and Volatile Evolution) that were taken at different points along the orbit of the red planet around the Sun.
As reported by NASA, MAVEN’s Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) obtained these global views of Mars in 2022 and 2023 when the planet was near opposite ends of its elliptical orbit..
Outside of the visible spectrum, the IUVS tool measures wavelengths between 110 and 340 nanometers. But to make it visible to the human eye and easy to interpret, such images are rendered with the varying brightness levels of three ultraviolet wavelength ranges represented as red, green, and blue.
Under this color scheme, atmospheric ozone appears purple, while clouds and mists appear white or blue. The surface may appear tan or green.
On the images captured, a first photograph shows Mars in July 2022 during the summer season of the southern hemisphere, which occurs when the planet passes closest to the Sun.
This image details important parts of Mars such as the Argyre Basin or the deep canyons of Valles Marineris.
The second image shows the northern hemisphere of Mars in January 2023 following Mars had passed the furthest point in its orbit from the Sun.
In this, the rapidly changing seasons in the north polar region cause a large number of white clouds.
According to NASA, with these captures “Scientists can gain insight into the Martian atmosphere and see surface features in remarkable ways.”
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