Martian Clouds Might Start with Meteor Trails Through the Atmosphere #SpaceSaturday

via Universe Today

On Earth, clouds form when enough droplets of water condense out of the air. And those droplets require a tiny speck of dust or sea salt, called a condensation nuclei, to form. In Earth’s atmosphere, those tiny specks of dust are lofted high into the atmosphere where they trigger cloud formation. But on Mars?

Planetary scientists have observed clouds in Mars’ middle atmosphere for a long time. The middle atmosphere begins about 30 km (18 miles) above the surface. But scientists have never observed the dust particles necessary to seed those clouds in that part of the atmosphere.

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