This class , stay put in lockdown , many of us will have looked to the skies for some escapism , and it hasnot frustrated . So far we have been treated to aSuper Pink Moon , the one-year visit of theLyrids Meteor Shower , and this weekend hopefully aRing of Fire eclipse . But another solitary somebody has been look skywards on a different planet , and in doing so becharm a coup d’oeil of base .
On its 2,784th sol , or Martian day , NASA’sCuriosity rovertook a peep at the Nox sky , about 75 second after sundown . ItsMast Camerathen took two painting – one of Earth , and one of Venus – which have been combine together to form a arresting panorama shot of Curiosity ’s scene .
If you ’re squinting at the moving picture to find the pinpoints of brightness level , do not fret . ordinarily the planet would look like very bright superstar from Mars ’ distance . However , the Red Planet is in particular dusty at this clip of year , which means that more sunshine is speculate , brightening the surrounding sky .
“ Even somewhat shining stars were not visible when this persona of Venus was take , ” Mark Lemmon , Mastcam co - investigator of the Space Science Institute in Boulder , Colorado , said in astatement . “ Earth also has bright gloam after some large volcanic eruption . ”
In the bottom left corner of the image , you may have spotted a rather forbidding structure . This is in fact the top of Mars ’ Tower Butte , a rock structure on the slope ofMount Sharp(Aeolis Mons ) , which Curiosity has been traversing since 2014 . Just before the rover ’s journey round the mountain start it snapped a gorgeous shot of the Earth and our Moon . With less gamy - elevation dust around , Curiosity ’s Mastcam had a much exculpated view of its home major planet in the twilight sky .
However , Earth has not been the only object to spark Curiosity ’s curiosity . Back in 2015 , the roamer sent back double of astunning blue sunseton Mars . At the time , Lemmon explain in astatementthat “ the colors descend from the fact that the very all right dust is the right size so that juicy light sink in the atmosphere slightly more efficiently . ”
