CBSnews OP t1_jbahefp wrote on March 7, 2023 at 5:21 PM

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NASA's Curiosity rover has captured "sun rays" on Mars for the first time, the agency says.

The footage was taken on Feb. 6, NASA said, and showed the phenomenon as the sun set on the planet. This is the first time, NASA said, that the sun rays, also known as crepuscular rays, have been viewed so clearly.

The moment was captured as the rover conducted a twilight cloud survey, building on previous observations of clouds. Previously recorded images of Martian clouds show them as being made of water ice and hovering no more 37 miles above Mars' surface. The new images captured by Curiosity appear to show clouds at a "higher altitude, where it's especially cold," NASA said, suggesting that the clouds are made of carbon dioxide ice, or dry ice.

The moment was captured as the rover conducted a twilight cloud survey, building on previous observations of clouds. Previously recorded images of Martian clouds show them as being made of water ice and hovering no more 37 miles above Mars' surface. The new images captured by Curiosity appears to show clouds at a "higher altitude, where it's especially cold," NASA said, suggesting that the clouds are made of carbon dioxide ice, or dry ice.