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.

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,

The phenomenon of twilight clouds was first observed on Mars in 1997 during NASA’s Pathfinder mission. However, it wasn’t until 2019 that the Curiosity Rover captured the first-ever images of iridescence in Martian clouds.

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 has shared a breathtaking video of colourful clouds in the Martian sky. Captured by the Curiosity Rover, exploring the Red Planet, it used its Mastcam to record a 16-minute video of these colourful clouds.