Curiosity Rover Captures Stunning Footage Of A Blue Sunset On Mars

Picturing a sunset conjures up memories of reds, pinks and golds. On Mars, however, the sunset is a shade of blue.

A magnificent video from NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars shows exactly how the sunset on April 15 looked on the Red Planet.

In a press release, NASA said the rover shot the segment between dust storms.

The government agency also described how the fine dust makes it easier for blue light to filter through.

Curiosity team member Mark Lemmon explained,

When the blue light scatters off the dust, it stays closer to the direction of the sun than light of other colors does. The rest of the sky is yellow to orange, as yellow and red light scatter all over the sky instead of being absorbed or staying close to the sun.

It's pretty much exactly the opposite on Earth: Blue lights are scattered in the atmosphere during the day and warmer-toned lights can be seen during sunsets.

Kind of Blue, indeed.

Citations: The Curiosity Mars rover caught a stunning blue sunset on the Red Planet (The Washington Post)