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Explanation: How different does sunset appear from Mars than from Earth? For comparison, two images of our common star were taken at sunset, one from Earth and one from Mars. These images were scaled to have same angular width and featured here side-by-side. A quick inspection will reveal that the Sun appears slightly smaller from Mars than from Earth. This makes sense since Mars is 50% further from the Sun than Earth. More striking, perhaps, is that the Martian sunset is noticeably bluer near the Sun than the typically orange colors near the setting Sun from Earth. The reason for the blue hues from Mars is not fully understood, but thought to be related to forward scattering properties of Martian dust. The terrestrial sunset was taken in 2012 March from Marseille, France, while the Martian sunset was captured last month by NASA's robotic Curiosity rover from Gale crater on Mars.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: sunset - Mars - Earth
Publications with words: sunset - Mars - Earth
See also:
- APOD: 2025 July 15 B Collapse in Hebes Chasma on Mars
- APOD: 2025 July 6 B The Spiral North Pole of Mars
- APOD: 2025 June 29 B Dark Sand Cascades on Mars
- APOD: 2025 June 22 B A Berry Bowl of Martian Spherules
- APOD: 2025 June 15 B Two Worlds One Sun
- Perseverance Selfie with Ingenuity
- Deimos Before Sunrise