Exploratour - The Atmosphere of Mars

Springtime dust storms swirl at the Martian north pole. Picture take by Hubble Space Telescope in 1996.
Click on image for full size

Weather

We have presented the fact that the atmosphere of Mars has very little water vapor so clouds don't form very easily. And we looked at the temperature, the fact that it is very cold almost everywhere in the atmosphere.

Weather in the atmosphere occurs because the air is in constant motion. Clear weather occurs when the air is stable. Cloudy and murky weather occurs when the air is unstable.

Extreme weather conditions include hurricanes, tornadoes, and thunderstorms. So far there is no evidence of severe weather on Mars, and little evidence of cloudy and murky weather patterns either.

Weather changes also occur due to changes in the season. Seasons occur because of the tilt of a planet when it revolves around the sun. The length of the Martian day (24 hours and 37 minutes) and the tilt of its axis (25 degrees) are similar to those on Earth (24 hours and 23.5 degrees), so its seasons should be similar to those of the Earth.

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