The Sun sets differently on Mars. Part of that is due to its distance from the star (an average of 142 million miles versus Earth’s roughly 93 million miles), but it also has to do with the planet’s atmosphere. A great example of the effects can be seen in the Red Planet’s noctilucent clouds.

Curiosity, a set of NASA 's robotic "eyes" on the Red Planet, recorded 16 minutes of so-called noctilucent clouds flying overhead on Jan. 17. These clouds, sometimes referred to as twilight clouds because they're too faint to see in daylight, appear iridescent by scattering light from the setting sun.

The Curiosity rover on Mars is looking up to study a cloudy mystery.The Latest Tech News, Delivered to Your Inbox

Red-and-green-tinted clouds drift through the Martian sky in a new set of images captured by NASA's Curiosity rover using its Mastcam—its main set of "eyes." Taken over 16 minutes on Jan. 17 (the 4,426th Martian day,

NASA has shared a stunning views of drifting clouds on Mars captured by the Curiosity rover. The iridescent clouds look like a giant feather in the Martian skies and was captured on January 27, 2023 after sunset.

NASA astronaut Suni Williams reacts to spacewalk record, extended stay in orbit and more 09:27. New images captured by NASA's Curiosity rover show colorful clouds in the sky over