NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover took an image of the Red Planet that went viral. The arc visible in the picture, which many people shared as looking like a rainbow, piqued people's interest.
The image is taken by NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover.
People began to comment on the image in a variety of ways. However, NASA clarified the situation with a new update, stating that the rainbow-like form is simply a lens fare.
Is it a Rainbow? Apparently Not!
"Many have asked: Is that a rainbow on Mars?" the Twitter account of NASA's Perseverance rover tweeted on Tuesday.
Many have asked: Is that a rainbow on Mars? No. Rainbows aren't possible here. Rainbows are created by light reflected off of round water droplets, but there isn't enough water here to condense, and it’s too cold for liquid water in the atmosphere. This arc is a lens flare. pic.twitter.com/mIoSSuilJW
— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) April 6, 2021
And it gave an answer: "No."
"Rainbows aren't possible here," it continued.
"Rainbows are created by light reflected off of round water droplets, but there isn't enough water here to condense, and it's too cold for liquid water in the atmosphere."
People responded to NASA's clarification tweet with various emotions, with many thanking the space agency for offering an explanation. NASA explained further on the lens flare as it responded to a netizen.
This is a lens flare. I have sunshades on my front Hazcams, which were considered mission-critical (I need them for driving forward & I'm usually driving forward). Sunshades weren’t considered essential on my back Hazcams, so you can see scattered light artifacts in their images.
— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) April 6, 2021
ALSO READ: NASA's Mars Ingenuity Helicopter Brings Part of Wright Brothers' 1903 Plane to Red Planet
Business Insider explained that lens flare is caused by light scattering and is the same effect that causes the sun to appear to have lines coming out of it in photographs.
About Perseverance Mission
Perseverance landed on Mars' Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, a 28-mile-wide (45-kilometer) crater. The rover is currently planning to observe NASA's Mars Helicopter Ingenuity's historic flights, which were just launched from Perseverance's belly.
Perseverance will continue working on its own research ambitions after Ingenuity has completed its flight. On the surface of Jezero, where a lake and a river delta once existed billions of years ago, the car-sized rover will look for evidence of ancient existence.
Perseverance will also gather and store a few hundred highly promising samples for return to Earth, where scientists will study them in great depth in well-equipped laboratories. This Mars material will be returned to Earth, perhaps as early as 2031, thanks to a joint NASA-European Space Agency mission.
About Ingenuity Mission
Are you still curious about how NASA brought a helicopter to Mars since NASA's Perseverance rover has gotten all the attention? According to CNet, Ingenuity is a "ride-along" project and a technical presentation. It is not possible to conduct research on Mars. It's designed to demonstrate that powered flight is feasible on another planet.
Ingenuity was secured and powered by the rover's suite of instruments while onboard Perseverance. Until the small car dropped off the helicopter, Perseverance rolled on and left Ingenuity frozen and lonely for a while. At night, the temperature on Mars drops way below zero to about minus 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Fortunately, Ingenuity proved that it can withstand the cold by surviving the first night apart from its rover companion.
Ingenuity snapped the first image of Mars, a low-resolution orange-and-brown snapshot of the planet's surface on Apr. 6. It's not much, but it's the first time a spacecraft capable of flight has taken a photo of the red planet's surface, which is pretty cool.
RELATED ARTICLE: Perseverance Finds Weird Green Rock on Mars, Can Scientists Identify It?
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