June 29, 2013

Blue sunset.

On Mars.

9 comments:

Original Mike said...

For many years the wallpaper on my computer was a Martian sunset, taken by one of the rovers.

Robert J. said...

Uniformly over the whole countryside
The warm air flows imperceptibly seaward;
The autumn haze drifts in deep bands
Over the pale water;
White egrets stand in the blue marshes;
Tamalpais, Diablo, St. Helena
Float in the air.
Climbing on the cliffs of Hunter’s Hill
We look out over fifty miles of sinuous
Interpenetration of mountains and sea.

Leading up a twisted chimney,
Just as my eyes rise to the level
Of a small cave, two white owls
Fly out, silent, close to my face.
They hover, confused in the sunlight,
And disappear into the recesses of the cliff.

All day I have been watching a new climber,
A young girl with ash blonde hair
And gentle confident eyes.
She climbs slowly, precisely,
With unwasted grace.

While I am coiling the ropes,
Watching the spectacular sunset,
She turns to me and says, quietly,
“It must be very beautiful, the sunset,
On Saturn, with the rings and all the moons.”

edutcher said...

Fascinating what a change in atmosphere can do.

mikee said...

The color of Martian sky (pink) and sunsets (blue) has been known since 1976, at least, because the Viking Mars Lander took pictures demonstrating this back when Carter was in office.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mars_Viking_12a240.png

madAsHell said...

Blue sunsets?? Get a clue...that means it is damn cold.

Joseph Blieu said...

I think it is imperative to stop burning coal on Mars to reduce the CO2 level.

Joseph Blieu said...

I think it is imperative to stop burning coal on Mars to reduce the CO2 level.

John Kenneth said...

Joseph
Venus is the planet with runaway greenhouse effects, not Mars. Mars is cold with almost no atmosphere to speak of, though it is mostly CO2

jaed said...

The surface temperature on Mars is, however, increasing. In other words, Mars is experiencing global warming. Hence the joke.