Nasa's Curiosity: Rover captures sunrays on Mars

You can make out the sunrays from this picture taken by Nasa's Curiosity rover

We're pretty used to seeing sunrays when the Sun sets here on Earth but on Mars, sunsets are usually a bit gloomier.

That's why this image captured by Nasa's Curiosity rover is so exciting.

It shows rays of light behind some clouds as the Sun set on the Red Planet back at the start of February.

It's the first time sun rays like this have been seen so clearly on Mars!

The picture was taken as part of a new survey of clouds on the planet.

This is what Curiosity looks like on Mars. It took this selfie back in November 2020

Why is Nasa's Curiosity rover taking pictures of clouds?

Curiosity is taking photos like this as part of a new cloud-imaging campaign which started in January 2023 and will finish in mid-March.

Clouds can provide scientists with loads of information to help them understand the weather on whichever planet they're observed on.

By studying these images and understanding when and where clouds form, more can be learnt about the composition of the atmosphere on Mars as well as temperatures and wind.

This was another image captured during this new cloud-imaging campaign. By studying the colours in iridescent clouds, scientists can learn more about the particle size in the clouds and how they grow over time

The latest images captured by curiosity show the clouds to be higher in the sky than they're usually found on Mars.

Scientists say it suggests these clouds are made of carbon dioxide ice or dry ice, rather than the usual water ice clouds found lower in the atmosphere.

This survey is different to the cloud survey conducted in 2021 where back-and-white navigation cameras were used to look at a cloud's structure as it moves.

This time, Curiosity is using its colour Mast Camera, otherwise known as Mastcam, so scientists can see how cloud particles grow over time.