What do you think the unusual plumes on Mars are?

RJN · Post by **RJN** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 12:52 am

Currently, the origin of unusual plumes on Mars is unknown. Please vote for your favorite explanation. This informal poll is connected to the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) of 2015 February 24, found here: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150224.html . If you have other thoughts, comments, or guesses as to the origin of these unusual plumes, please either post them below.

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 7:29 am

http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?t=34463
http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?t=34484

Mike Herman · Post by **Mike Herman** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 5:19 am

Meteorite impacts.

eric 2 · Post by **eric 2** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 5:53 am

Mike Herman wrote:Meteorite impacts.

in the same spot over 7 days?

Texas Mike · Post by **Texas Mike** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 5:56 am

Simply being hit by a meteor. I am sure it happens all the time.

Aliena Jackson · Post by **Aliena Jackson** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 7:04 am

If there was enough evidence of water on Mars, I would opt for something akin to a geyser.

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 7:41 am

My first thought was prolonged thermal venting, not unlike a volcanoe and it's associated network of magma and channels, but likely because mars is nothing like earth green and vibrant state of regeneration and life cycle, it is likely thermal/gas in nature and part of its atmospheric/environmental reconstitution. Stirring up dust and surface matter and/or some kind of charged or combusting particles occurring during periodic continuous "burst" and "currents" of the gases and contents being released from pressured chambers

tm368 · Post by **tm368** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 8:20 am

ALIENS HAVE BEAT US TO MARS AND WERE CAUGHT DOING MAJOR CONSTRUCTION USING NUCLEAR DEMOLITION!!!!!!! LOL

manonmars · Post by **manonmars** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 8:40 am

It's water vapour being ejected from deep in Mars . .hence the foggy Venus like cloud surrounding the planet

Lilly · Post by **Lilly** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 9:05 am

manonmars wrote:It's water vapour being ejected from deep in Mars . .hence the foggy Venus like cloud surrounding the planet

That was my first thought....

mnvikings0 · Post by **mnvikings0** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 9:26 am

medium sized meteor impact

Obelisk · Post by **Obelisk** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 10:07 am

My first thought was volcanism, but I think an meteorite - impact is more likely. Because this plume is seen in the pole region, I imagine that the impact causes frozen gas and water to melt and cristallize again in the atmosphere reflecting sunlight, making the plume look denser than it actually is.

Frank-O · Post by **Frank-O** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 12:18 pm

Meteor impact would be my guess.

wkingmilw · Post by **wkingmilw** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 12:32 pm

There may be more than one type of cause and plume, all of which would look about the same from this distance.

makndo · Post by **makndo** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 12:37 pm

Could the plume be related to seasonal changes--spring in the northern hemisphere of Mars would sublimate the frozen gases at the pole and create an expanding cloud of ice crystals .

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 12:51 pm

Ummm, some pretty imaginative answers, yet the obvious one was not listed. I wonder why?

visualj · Post by **visualj** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 1:17 pm

I seem to recall an Isaac Asimov (writing as Paul French) story that described dust storms on Mars that were extremely bad because static electricity would suspend the dust particles. maybe that is it...

Luck Starr and the Sands of Mars?

Spectrum · Post by **Spectrum** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 1:19 pm

The Mysterons,

starsurfer · Post by **starsurfer** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 2:17 pm

Maybe it is a dust based version of a geyser?

Calmdown · Post by **Calmdown** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 2:29 pm

Calm down. Its just a new Walmart being built. sheesh.

DrDrako · Post by **DrDrako** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 2:45 pm

Obviously: Thermal plume above an alien tailgate party around a cluster of old surface-rovers thought to be long dead.
Second guess: Look to interacting near-polar water and or CO2 surface-atmosphere processes.

Stephen B · Post by **Stephen B** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 2:47 pm

Wait a couple weeks until the first cylinder lands and you'll know what this means!

Rob444b · Post by **Rob444b** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 2:58 pm

Stephan. I agree with you cylinders from Mars was my first thought!

gr810r · Post by **gr810r** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 3:11 pm

Burning Man, Martian version.

CubbyBear3 · Post by **CubbyBear3** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 3:20 pm

Perhaps is is some kind of Martian "Aurora" which according to wikipedia can go as high as 1,000 km in Earth's atmosphere.

Starship Asterisk*