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The Perseverance Rover owned by NASA has captured what appears to be a rainbow on Mars on April 5, 2021. Even though the image is a beauty to the human eye, the likelihood of it actually being a rainbow is not probable. Because scientifically, there should not be rainbows on Mars, the picture has sparked great conjecture on the world wide web.
There has to be a logical explanation. For this to be remotely possible, there would need to be a combination of sunlight and droplets of rain in the atmosphere. On this planet, rainbows can be seen when direct light from the sun connects with specific air conditions, then the illumination strikes and bounces off single water beads in the atmosphere.
Though stunning, since the air on Mars is cold and much dryer than here on earth, the reality is, it could not be a rainbow.
Could it be a “dustbow?” Reddit users seem to believe that what appears to be a “rainbow” is merely the reflection of light from the sun and dust in the air forming what appears to be a rainbow.
However, the most reasonable description of the “rainbow” we see in the image is just the outcome of a “lens flare,” residue created by random beams of light passing into the camera and exploding inside the lens.
The position of the rover is just north of the chopper, so this puts the lens of the camera so that it is peering south at approximately 2:00 p.m. The Solar System Exploration program director of NASA, Dave Lavery said, when these pictures were captured, it was local Mars solar time.
So, NASA said, “after we ran this story, the lens flare explanation appears to be correct. The apparent rainbow is indeed an artifact caused by the Hazcam’s lens.”
The image’s beauty was an amazing sight to behold, even if it was not what it appeared to be.
Written by Sharri Rogers
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
Futurism: NASA Releases Breathtaking Rover Photo of “Rainbow” on Mars; by Victor Tangermann
The Hill: NASA releases spectacular photo of rainbow on Mars; by Jenna Romaine
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Robert Couse Baker’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Joe Kirschling’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License