Cloudspotting on Mars: Shapes

Clouds on Mars help regulate climate, just as they do on Earth. But scientists don’t yet have answers to the most basic questions about clouds on Mars: What are the daily, seasonal and yearly patterns in Martian cloud shapes and distributions? How do Martian clouds reflect wind patterns? Do similarities between Earth’s and Mars's cloud types indicate similar formation mechanisms?

Help this project find answers! Join the team to help map Martian clouds in data collected by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft to create a database that will help answer these questions.

Go to Project Website

ages

18 and up

division

Planetary Science

where

Online

launched

2024

Left image captures the upper left limb of Mars with black space beyond. The Martian atmosphere appears in grey-blues with irregular, fuzzy white shapes reminiscent of clouds seen on Earth. Right image also shows the same upper left limb, with Mars nearly filling the frame. The cratered surface of Mars is visible through a haze of atmosphere and clouds.

Some clouds on Mars resemble clouds on Earth. Others are unique to Mars. Left image shows Martian clouds in a variety of forms illuminated by the sun to the right of the image, where the red line indicates the transition from day to night. Right image shows how dust and clouds can mix to create massive features that cross large parts of Mars. Surface craters can easily be seen in the bottom half of the image, where the atmosphere is more clear of dust and clouds.

NASA/LASP/CU Boulder, Image processing by Kyle Connour

What you’ll do

Learn about a variety of cloud types that exist on Mars and how to spot them.
Examine images of Mars from NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft.
Click on the images to tag clouds of each common type.
Connect with other people with similar interests via Zooniverse TALK bulletin boards.

Requirements

Time: 10-15 minutes to complete the tutorial.
Equipment: Web-connected device.
Knowledge: An in project tutorial provides all the instruction needed for the basic task.

Get started!

Visit the project website.
Complete the Tutorial and read the Field Guide to learn about Mars' various cloud formations, and how the images are created for this project.
Start tagging the images to help build understanding of when and where these unique cloud shapes show up!

Learn More

Read the Research Pages on the project’s website to learn more about the science of Cloudspotting on Mars: Shapes and the goals of this project. Check out another project led by this team: Cloudspotting on Mars.