Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Sunset on Mars

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Sunset on Mars[edit]

Original - Sunset on Mars. Photo taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit as the Sun sank below the rim of Gusev crater on Mars on May 19th, 2005. Because Mars is farther from the Sun than the Earth is, the Sun appears only about two-thirds the size that it appears in a sunset seen from the Earth. Although Mars lacks oxygen and nitrogen, it is covered in red dust frequently hoisted into the atmosphere by fast but thin winds.At least some Martian days are capped by a sunset significantly longer and redder than typical on Earth. Sunlight continues to reflect off Martian dust high in the atmosphere up to two hours after sunset, casting a diffuse glow.
Reason
Yes, another sunset photo! :) Encyclopedic in showing how a sunset looks different depending on a planet's distance to the sun and its atmospheric composition. Also interesting and even eerie - I had never thought about what a sunset would look like from another planet before seeing this image. This appears to be the only available photo of a sunset from another planet except one really poor-quality panorama.
Articles this image appears in
Sunset
Creator
NASA

Not promoted MER-C 05:13, 7 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]