Scientists are trying to find a plausible explanation behind the mysterious haze that appeared high above the Red Planet.
The strange plume was first spotted a team of amateur astronomers in 2012, and since then the Martian haze has appeared twice and disappeared again.
The scientists have analyzed images of the strange haze on Mars and concluded that it stretches around for approximately 1,000 km and is bigger than anything of that nature ever spotted before on Mars.
The researchers have several theories on what might be the origins of the mysterious haze. One of the theories says that the plume could be an extremely bright aurora or even a very large cloud formation. However, the experts are not certain how the haze could have formed so high in the thin upper Mars atmosphere.
Antonio Garcia Munoz, a planetary scientist at the European Space Agency, stated that the images of the strange haze on Mars raise more questions than answers. Astronomers from all over the world are monitoring the haze waiting to see what will happen next.
The first time the mysterious haze was discovered was in March 2012 hanging above the southern Mars hemisphere.
The first scientist to spot it is Damian Peach who explained that he noticed a projection-like appearance sticking from one side of the planet.
Peach first thought that there must be something wrong with his camera and telescope. He then double-checked the images and realized that there was nothing wrong with his tools and that there really a strange phenomenon happening above Mars.
According to Peach, the very bright stayed on the Martian sky for approximately 10 days, vanished and reappeared a month later. The second time it appeared, the haze remained in place for the same period of time as it did the first time.
Since then, other scientists agreed with Mr. Peach that they are still trying to find an explanation for the mysterious cloud.
Some say that the haze could be a cloud made of water or carbon dioxide particles. Others believe that the phenomenon could be a Martian version of our northern or southern lights.
Image Source: bbcimg
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