‘Is that a rainbow on Mars?’: NASA reveals the truth behind viral picture

A picture of the Martian surface shared by the US space agency, NASA, went viral on social media. What appeared to be a rainbow was captured by NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover. 

The image was first shared by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory confirming the touchdown of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. A rainbow-like structure was captured along the horizon.

Also read: China’s space agency releases high-resolution images of Mars captured from Tianwen-1 probe

Also read: Watch: Elon Musk’s SpaceX’s SN10 explodes 8 mins after successful landing

After the image went viral, many Reddit users speculated that since the formation of a ‘rainbow’ isn’t possible on Mars, it could be a ‘dustbow’, caused by dust particles. They also dug through NASA Mars Program Office Chief Scientist Rich Zurek’s 2015 comment, in which he said that “icebows” can appear on Mars.

“Not quite rainbows, because there is no rain, but we have seen icebows with the Pathfinder mission,” he wrote in response to a query.

To put all the speculations to rest, NASA on Wednesday revealed the reason behind the picture.

“Is that a rainbow on Mars?” it tweeted, followed up with the answer, that is, “No. Rainbows aren’t possible here.”

NASA’s Perseverance Rover clarified that what appeared as a rainbow was nothing but a “lens flare.”

“Rainbows are created by light reflected off of round water droplets, but there isn’t enough water here to condense, and it’s too cold for liquid water in the atmosphere. This arc is a lens flare,” it said.

Also read: Mars’ ‘missing’ water buried beneath surface: Study

NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover was launched on July 30, last year and touched down on the Martian surface on February 18. Its main aim is to “seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for possible return to Earth.”