(N.Morgan) As our environment has been experiencing some major and unexplained changes in the midst of those changes another event has occurred that has left the science world stumped, massive clouds erupted 260 Km into the Martian atmosphere. This is way beyond Mars’s normal weather, reaching into the exosphere where the atmosphere merges with interplanetary space.

None of the conventional explanations for such clouds make sense – neither water or carbon dioxide ice nor dust storms nor auroral light emissions usually hit such heights.

Space agencies have put a great deal of effort into learning all there is to know about Mars, yet it was amateur Red Planet enthusiasts that made a very puzzling discovery not long ago.  Among them is stargazer Damian Peach who, in 2012, spotted and photographed a mysterious plume hovering high above the Martian surface.  At first he thought it may be an equipment malfunction, but a perusal of the several images he’d taken showed that it was, in fact, a feature. 

Scientists have since confirmed the sightings, but haven’t been able to determine what the strange mass was. One of the possibilities considered is that it was a cloud of either water particles or carbon dioxide gas.The problem with that theory is that the cloud was located around 125 miles above the planet, something that based on the current understanding of Mars and its atmosphere just isn’t possible. 

Several other explanations, like auroras and debris from volcanic eruptions, have been posited and ruled out as well, as ultimately they just don’t pan out scientifically.  Further study and definitive answers may have to wait until the plume appears again.

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