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Mars Reveals Its Purple Side Through Hubble Telescope
Confirmed
In Short: Scientists using the Hubble telescope have spotted unusual purple hues on Mars, a first for the planet’s southern hemisphere.
The dusty reds, ochres, browns, and tans that give Mars its nickname, the Red Planet, are now complemented by swirls of pink, purple, and red.
The observations come from the Hubble’s Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program, which has been imaging the outer planets annually for over a decade.
The purple hues are the first time scientists have seen a large, regular-sided jet pattern in the planet’s southern hemisphere.
NASA astronaut Jessica Meir recently posted on September 8, invoking Jimi Hendrix's iconic song 'Purple Haze' after witnessing the aurora illuminate Earth's atmosphere with ethereal greens, reds, and purples.
Meir noted that Hendrix would have 'rejoiced' at the 'brilliant purple,' a reference to the song's inspiration from a sci-fi novel about a distant planet in a binary star system.
The novel describes a phenomenon where every seven years, the stars bathe the planet in a bizarre purple radiance, rearranging physical reality in profound ways.
The atmosphere's purple glow, for instance, turned some people into trees and brought statues to life.
The discovery of these purple patterns on Mars adds to the planet's intrigue and highlights the ongoing exploration of its diverse and dynamic surface.
What this adds
The purple patterns observed on Mars are unprecedented and add to the planet's known color palette.
The OPAL program's consistent imaging of outer planets has contributed to this groundbreaking observation.
What's confirmed
- The dusty reds, ochres, browns, and tans that give Mars its nickname, the Red Planet, are now complemented by swirls of pink, purple, and red.
- The observations come from the Hubble’s Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program, which has been imaging the outer planets annually for over a decade.
- The purple hues are the first time scientists have seen a large, regular-sided jet pattern in the planet’s southern hemisphere.
- NASA astronaut Jessica Meir recently posted on September 8, invoking Jimi Hendrix's iconic song 'Purple Haze' after witnessing the aurora illuminate Earth's atmosphere with ethereal greens, reds, and purples.
- Meir noted that Hendrix would have 'rejoiced' at the 'brilliant purple,' a reference to the song's inspiration from a sci-fi novel about a distant planet in a binary star system.
- The novel describes a phenomenon where every seven years, the stars bathe the planet in a bizarre purple radiance, rearranging physical reality in profound ways.
- The atmosphere's purple glow, for instance, turned some people into trees and brought statues to life.
- The discovery of these purple patterns on Mars adds to the planet's intrigue and highlights the ongoing exploration of its diverse and dynamic surface.
What's still developing
- Swirls of pink, purple, and red highlight the region and a feature named Thyles Rupes, an icy crag with cliffs higher than 1 km.
- As the planet moved through its seasonal cycle, the south pole gradually became easier to observe from Earth.
- Last week, IU released a music video for Dear My Crazy Soulmate, the b-side to Unknown Planet (별로부터).
- In some ways, Unknown Planet recalls the more theatrical fare of her past, though it’s still pretty straightforward as a song.
- In fact, without the production backing it up I’m not sure Unknown Planet would have much appeal to me at all.
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- After Remake ’s more linear structure and Rebirth ’s open-world expansion, Revelation takes that scale to a planet-wide level.
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