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NASA’s Curiosity rover shares a stunning sunset on Mars
The Curiosity rover just sent back a stunning postcard capturing its view of a shimmering sunset on Mars.
The NASA rover has been roaming across the surface of Mars for more than 10 years, searching for answers as to why the red planet went from warm and wet to a frozen desert. It has discovered intriguing rock formations, searched for signs of life and scaled Mount Sharp at the center of Gale Crater.
But rather than continuing to focus on the near-endless red stretch of rocks and dirt below its wheels, the rover has recently been looking up.
NASA's Curiosity used its Mastcam to capture this 360-degree panorama of "Marker Band Valley" on Dec. 16, 2022, the 3,684th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Rippled rock textures found in this area are the clearest evidence the rover has seen of water and waves from Mars' ancient past.
On February 2, Curiosity observed rays of sunlight stretching across the horizon and illuminating a bank of clouds as the sun set on Mars. It’s the first time the rays, known as crepuscular rays, have been seen so clearly on the red planet.
The rover is conducting a survey of twilight clouds on Mars to follow up on its previous observations of night-shining clouds. In 2021, Curiosity used its black and white navigation cameras to watch the structure of those clouds as they moved on Mars.
Clouds provide deeper insight about weather patterns and conditions. Scientists can use information about when and where clouds form on Mars to learn more about the planet’s atmospheric composition and temperatures, as well as wind.
The new survey, which kicked off in January and will wrap up later this month, utilizes the rover’s color camera located on its mast to watch as cloud particles grow.
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used two cameras to create this selfie in front of Mont Mercou, a rock outcrop that stands 20 feet (6 meters) tall.
On Mars, most clouds are made of frozen ice and float about 37 miles (60 kilometers) above the ground. But Curiosity spotted clouds that reach a higher altitude, as seen in the new photo, leading researchers to believe they are made of frozen carbon dioxide ice — or dry ice. Scientists are still studying them to figure out why this happens.
Curiosity captured a separate image of shiny, iridescent clouds that resemble feathers on January 27.
“Where we see iridescence, it means a cloud’s particle sizes are identical to their neighbors in each part of the cloud,” said Mark Lemmon, an atmospheric scientist with the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, in a statement. “By looking at color transitions, we’re seeing particle size changing across the cloud. That tells us about the way the cloud is evolving and how its particles are changing size over time.”
注释：
shimmering: adj
表示"闪烁的"，means "shine with a weak or fitful light"，如：She wore an evening gown of shimmering gold at the party. 她在晚会上穿了一身金光闪烁的晚礼服。
intriguing: adj
表示" 吸引人的；有趣的"，means "disturbingly provocative"，如：The bigger picture is more intriguing. 图片越大就越吸引人。
Mast: n
表示" 船桅；旗杆"，means " on a ship,a vertical pole to which sails are connected"，如：The mast went by the board in the storm. 那船桅在暴风雨中落于船外。
Panorama: n
表示" 全景"，means " a complete view in every direction"，如：As we stood at the top of the mountain, a beautiful panorama spread out before us.我们登上山顶时，一幅美丽的景色展现在我们的面前。
martian: adj
表示"火星的"，means "of or relating to the planet Mars "，如：The movie is about between the Martian and earthman's matter. 影片是关于火星人与地球人之间的事。
crepuscular: adj
表示" 微光的；"，means "like twilight; dim"，如：Bats are crepuscular creatures. 蝙蝠是在黎明或黄昏时分活动的动物。
iridescence
表示" 彩虹色"，means "the visual property of something having a milky brightness and a play of colors from the surface"，如：The huge pool of blood in front of her was already assuming the iridescence of coagulation. 她面前那一滩血，已经凝结了起来，显出五光十色。
中文简要说明：
美国国家航空暨太空总署（NASA）的火星探测车「好奇号」（Curiosity），过去10多年来在火星上不断游走，探索地表环境与寻找生命存在的迹象。最近它把目光转向天空，拍下日落时太阳光穿透云层，照射在地表上，形成云隙光（crepuscular ray）的美景。而这也是人类首度看到火星「日落薄暮」的景象。
根据CNN报导，NASA日前公布「好奇号」传回的最新火星照，照片拍摄于上月2日，可清楚看到火星日落时云隙光映照天空的美景。科学家表示，大多数火星云由水冰构成，漂浮在距离地面大约60公里的高度，但「好奇号」最新拍摄的照片显示，云层的高度超过了60公里，分析组成成分是结冻的「二氧化碳冰」，也就是干冰。
科学家透过观测云，包括云层形成的地点和时间，来了解火星的大气组成、温度和其他天气变化。2021年时，「好奇号」使用黑白相机记录云移动时的结构，最新的调查则是透过彩色相机，帮助科学家了解云粒子如何随时间增长。
另外在今年1月27日，「好奇号」则是拍下状似羽毛的闪亮云朵美景。科罗拉多州大气科学家马克（Mark Lemmon）指出，这种类型的云称为「虹彩」（iridescence），代表云的粒子大小与周遭都相同，而透过观察颜色变化，能看出粒子大小在云中的变化，有助于了解云的演化方式。
除了「好奇号」shimmering之外，目前在火星上的探测车还有美国的「毅力号」（Perseverance）及中国的「祝融号」（Zhurong）。
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