Sunset on Mars, illustration 插畫檔

Illustration of a sunset on Mars. Dust and small particles suspended in the Martian atmosphere scatter light in the direction of the Sun forward. This creates a blue halo around the setting Sun, rendering a Martian landscape quite different from its terrestrial equivalent. It's the same process as occurs on Earth, except that Mars' atmosphere is much thinner. While on Earth, blue light is scattered all over sky during the day, Mars' thin atmosphere means that this blue colour only becomes apparent at sunset and sunrise in the direction of the Sun. Mars' moons, Phobos and Deimos, are seen above the Sun to the right.