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Massive Cloud on Mars...what could it be?

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MyGodItsFullofStars Since: Feb, 2011
#1: Mar 23rd 2012 at 11:59:14 PM

A cloud that reaches high into the Martian atmosphere has been spotted by an amateur astronomer. It could be all sorts of things - a volcano, a meteorite impact, visitors, Barack Obama's time machine, wormsign, swampgas, the planet Venus, a weather balloon...

So, what is your theory? And, how should we prepare? (You can answer this question seriously, or just get silly with it, I just thought it was interesting and might be fun to talk about).

BobbyG vigilantly taxonomish from England Since: Jan, 2001
vigilantly taxonomish
#2: Mar 24th 2012 at 12:05:55 AM

If you're around Horsell Common over the next few days, better keep an eye out for cylinders.

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RainbowMatt Prettiest Pony :3 from the cave of unspeakable naughtiness Since: Oct, 2011 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
Prettiest Pony :3
#3: Mar 24th 2012 at 12:40:13 AM

I was justreading about this! They do have massive dust storms and tornadic activity on Mars. My guess is it is somehow related to those in some way.

Devypu's~ Big Pony :3
MyGodItsFullofStars Since: Feb, 2011
#4: Mar 24th 2012 at 12:46:35 AM

While Mars does have an atmosphere and distinct weather patterns, it's atmospheric pressure is something like 0.2% that of Earth's. "Massive" storms on Mars are so dispersed you probably wouldn't notice more than a haze from the Martian surface (though some Martian sandstorms can cover an entire hemisphere), and though the wind speed can get high, the wind pressure is so low that using windfarms to power a Mars base has long been considered impossible. For that matter, the air pressure is so low that you wouldn't be able to fly a traditional aircraft, and jet engines would be inoperable, though airships could be made very large and very practical on Mars.

Scientists are freaking out about this cloud because it IS so dense and large, that it basically does not match up with any Martian weather pattern we have observed (and we have been observing the Martian atmosphere for nearly two hundred years, believe it or not, with Earth-based telescopes). Also, it appears to be composed of water vapor, which is outright strange considering that water vapor concentrations tend to be very low, and normally in the form of freezing mists that cling to the near-surface of the planet - not high-altitude clouds.

edited 24th Mar '12 12:53:28 AM by MyGodItsFullofStars

Steventheman Cmdr. of His Supremacy's Armed Forces from Wales Since: Feb, 2011
Cmdr. of His Supremacy's Armed Forces
#5: Mar 24th 2012 at 1:23:53 AM

OBVIOUS ALIEN INVASION -Launches thousands of nukes-

FIMFiction Account MLPMST Page
MajorTom Since: Dec, 2009
AirofMystery Since: Jan, 2001
Lock Space Wizard from Germany Since: Sep, 2010
Space Wizard
#8: Mar 24th 2012 at 6:51:17 AM

Barack Obama's time machine
I see what you did there.

Programming and surgery have a lot of things in common: Don't start removing colons until you know what you're doing.
TheBatPencil from Glasgow, Scotland Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: I'm just a hunk-a, hunk-a burnin' love
#9: Mar 24th 2012 at 6:56:51 AM

wild mass guess Time Lord wild mass guess

And let us pray that come it may (As come it will for a' that)
GameChainsaw The Shadows Devour You. from sunshine and rainbows! Since: Oct, 2010
Haldo Indecisive pumpkin from Never never land Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
Indecisive pumpkin
#11: Mar 24th 2012 at 8:16:24 AM

I hope it's aliens!

‽‽‽‽ ^These are interrobangs. Love them. Learn them. Use them.
DrunkGirlfriend from Castle Geekhaven Since: Jan, 2011
#12: Mar 24th 2012 at 8:16:52 AM

It's a gigantic pimple. I don't want to be anywhere near when it pops.

"I don't know how I do it. I'm like the Mr. Bean of sex." -Drunkscriblerian
Loid from Eastern Standard Time Since: Jun, 2011
#14: Mar 24th 2012 at 8:18:45 AM

It's Newt Gingrich's space fleet.

Mars will be our 52nd state.

"Dr. Strangeloid, or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Cleanlink" - thespacephantom
DrunkGirlfriend from Castle Geekhaven Since: Jan, 2011
#15: Mar 24th 2012 at 8:23:35 AM

[1]

"I don't know how I do it. I'm like the Mr. Bean of sex." -Drunkscriblerian
rumetzen Since: Jan, 2010
#16: Mar 24th 2012 at 12:20:02 PM

Clearly we must destroy Mars to keep the threat from spreading.

ParkingCetacean I don't know. from a computer Since: Oct, 2011
I don't know.
#17: Mar 24th 2012 at 12:27:08 PM

It's Waldo.

Yeah, turns out Waldo is a Smoke Monster, like from Lost.

Who knew.

And to say I was nervous... it wouldn't be quite enough.
#19: Mar 24th 2012 at 1:46:51 PM

airships could be made very large and very practical on Mars.

Physics is not my strong suit, but wouldn't thin air tend to make airships less practical, rather than more? Since, you know, if airships flew better in thinner air then they'd have more and more lift the higher they went and every airship would launch into orbit on being untethered from the ground.

<><
Zyxzy Embrace the mindscrew from Salem, OR Since: Jan, 2001
Embrace the mindscrew
#20: Mar 24th 2012 at 1:49:38 PM

Massive cloud on Mars. How did it get there?

I hope it's an interesting answer. Or a mystery. Those are fun.

What's the frequency Kenneth?|In case of war.
MyGodItsFullofStars Since: Feb, 2011
#21: Mar 24th 2012 at 2:39:57 PM

[up][up]It's a tricky beast, so I'm glad someone asked for clarification!

You are absolutely correct in that the buoyant force on Mars is far less than it is on Earth. The difference, however, is that the force of gravity is 1/3 that of Earth's, and the turbulent forces are almost negligible. The result is that you have to make your Martian airship much larger than one on Earth, but you can do so without worrying that the craft would fall apart under its own weight and the shearing forces caused by wind. Also, because the Martian atmosphere is almost all carbon dioxide, you could inflate the craft with any number of cheap, nonflammable gases - for instance, Argon is a good contender, especially because it is plentiful enough in the Martian atmosphere to be harvested.

Oh, just to clarify, thinner air means less, not more, buoyant force. It isn't so much that there's "less air to get in the way, so a balloon rises faster"; instead, think of it like "there's less air to support the balloon, so it takes more uplifting gas to raise the balloon to a particular height".

Believe me, if all it took was a balloon to launch things into orbit from Mars, we'd already have settlements on the red world.

edited 24th Mar '12 2:48:12 PM by MyGodItsFullofStars

pagad Sneering Imperialist from perfidious Albion Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Sneering Imperialist
#22: Mar 24th 2012 at 3:34:29 PM

BWAAHH BWAAHH BWAAAAAAAAAH!

BWAAHH BWAHH BWAAAAAAAAAR!

BWAAHH BWAHH BWAAAAAAAAAH!

BWAAHH BWAHH BWAAARRRRRRR.

edited 24th Mar '12 3:36:43 PM by pagad

With cannon shot and gun blast smash the alien. With laser beam and searing plasma scatter the alien to the stars.
GearLeader from Dota Hell Since: Mar, 2011 Relationship Status: Married to the job
#23: Mar 24th 2012 at 8:04:40 PM

It's the damn Reapers!!!!!

Lol, nah this is pretty cool though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXkI1sTDoEg
Octo Prince of Dorne from Germany Since: Mar, 2011
Prince of Dorne
#24: Mar 24th 2012 at 8:05:16 PM

It's a case of "I knew who started the thread even before I clicked on it"tongue

Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken. Unrelated ME1 Fanfic
SantosLHalper Since: Aug, 2009
#25: Mar 24th 2012 at 8:20:12 PM

[up][up][up]

UUUUULLLLLLAAAAA!!!

edited 24th Mar '12 8:20:25 PM by SantosLHalper


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