Mars sky and atmosphere

Space Viking

Member
Jun 30, 2013
249
164
43
That's pretty gorgeous, Ezer. Admittedly, reproducing an accurate representation of the Martian sky is a pretty tricky matter. Wikipedia has an interesting article on the subject.

During daytime the sky on Mars would actually be pretty bright with no visible stars. According to Wikipedia, it is now known the color of the Martian sky during the days is a scarlet or bright orangeish-red color. However, I don't know what "now" is supposed to mean since the claim has no reliable references to that supposed discovery whatsoever. Eitherway, I'd imagine orangeish-red would be the way to go. Yet, as Mars is referred to as the red planet, an ascetical tint of red would give the player a more classic impression.

Sunset would be interesting. While the sky would be rose, the sun would be circled by a fade of blue due to water ice particles. Twilight would last about 2 hours longer than on Earth because of high-attitude atmospheric dust.

Some technical details is the Sun would be an 5/8 of it's regular size. The daylight would be about half as bright than on Earth. However, that doesn't necessarily make the environment half as bright. As the thinner atmosphere of Mars results in less light scattering, it would more of increase the contrast between the sun and the sky, making the latter appear darker. So yeah, depicting the Martian sky is surprisingly complicated.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ezer'Arch

Ezer'Arch

Member
May 18, 2013
1,580
399
83
ezerarch.com
Admittedly, reproducing an accurate representation of the Martian sky is a pretty tricky matter. Wikipedia has an interesting article on the subject.
Nice post. I didn't know about all this detail. I believe that Mars sky would drive Micdoodle8 nuts if he tries to implement it. The sky dome would have such a colorful gradient of colors from red to blue.

BTW, I've just found this animation:


This too:

 
Last edited:

Space Viking

Member
Jun 30, 2013
249
164
43
I've made a mockup of the Martian sky. I did also use a drained ocean as a terrain template since it represents the martian terrain pretty well. I rounded the edges around a rift to give it a more canyon like impression and also even made some simple texture edits in order to make the terrain more Mars-like and to give the Sun a correct scale. The colors were later adjusted in an image editor.


Marsday.jpg


Marssunset.jpg


Admittedly isn't the colors perfect, but should give an approximate idea on how the sky might look like on Mars. Clouds are present, but they are very sparse.

There should be occasional Sandstorms on Mars. Those would barely nudge you due to the thin atmosphere, but your vision would be reduced. Mars has also two moons, but how that should be represented on the sky is for another topic I guess.

Also, here's a cool panorama by Curiosity: http://www.360cities.net/image/mars-panorama-curiosity-solar-day-177
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ezer'Arch

IsoMS

Member
Jul 26, 2013
970
67
28
33
*Canadaaaa
Nice post. I didn't know about all this detail. I believe that Mars sky would drive Micdoodle8 nuts if he tries to implement it. The sky dome would have such a colorful gradient of colors from red to blue.

BTW, I've just found this animation:


This too:



yes animations, NASA GO TO MARS NOW!
 

Dinammar

Member
Aug 31, 2013
657
145
43
28
London, United Kingdom
I've made a mockup of the Martian sky. I did also use a drained ocean as a terrain template since it represents the martian terrain pretty well. I rounded the edges around a rift to give it a more canyon like impression and also even made some simple texture edits in order to make the terrain more Mars-like and to give the Sun a correct scale. The colors were later adjusted in an image editor.


View attachment 338


View attachment 339


Admittedly isn't the colors perfect, but should give an approximate idea on how the sky might look like on Mars. Clouds are present, but they are very sparse.

There should be occasional Sandstorms on Mars. Those would barely nudge you due to the thin atmosphere, but your vision would be reduced. Mars has also two moons, but how that should be represented on the sky is for another topic I guess.

Also, here's a cool panorama by Curiosity: http://www.360cities.net/image/mars-panorama-curiosity-solar-day-177
What i think about clouds on Mars:
3qsxwk.jpg
 

Ezer'Arch

Member
May 18, 2013
1,580
399
83
ezerarch.com
Admittedly isn't the colors perfect, but should give an approximate idea on how the sky might look like on Mars. Clouds are present, but they are very sparse.
It's excellent. Did you use a modified Minecraft (besides the image editor)? I used Optifine to achieve those effects in my shots.

What i think about clouds on Mars: This is unacceptable

merb_sol290_clouds-B313R1_br.jpg


marshorizon_opportunity.jpg


:3
 
Last edited:

Space Viking

Member
Jun 30, 2013
249
164
43
Those poor Martian clouds. They are just misunderstood and are actually really nice when you get to know them. :(

It's excellent. Did you use a modified Minecraft (besides the image editor)? I used Optifine to achieve those effects in my shots.

It's vanilla Minecraft (Although, Optifine does look interesting). At first I tried to edit the sky but soon I realized it was a bit more than just a simple texture edit, so I stuck with the default sky. I'm still trying to figure out the technical aspects behind the sky in Minecraft however.
 

Ezer'Arch

Member
May 18, 2013
1,580
399
83
ezerarch.com
Those poor Martian clouds. They are just misunderstood and are actually really nice when you get to know them. :(
It's vanilla Minecraft (Although, Optifine does look interesting). At first I tried to edit the sky but soon I realized it was a bit more than just a simple texture edit, so I stuck with the default sky. I'm still trying to figure out the technical aspects behind the sky in Minecraft however.
Hey, look at this. You can turn the view around up and down: http://soloist.s3-website-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: MasterOanarchY

Space Viking

Member
Jun 30, 2013
249
164
43
A few days ago I came over MCPatcher, which allowed me to edit the sky more thoroughly. The result is a resource pack that turns the default sky into a cheap imitation of the Martian sky. It also features the minor texture edit I did earlier.

2013-09-23_13.31.31.jpg

The biggest issue is of course the color of the twilight, since that stuff seems to still be hardcoded even with the patch. Hence it was pretty tricky to make the blue blend atleast somewhat good. It also removes the default texture of the night sky, so I used a really cheap substitute in place of that.

Keep in mind, it needs MCPatcher in order to properly work.
 

Attachments

  • Mars.zip
    219.7 KB · Views: 20
  • Like
Reactions: Ezer'Arch

Ezer'Arch

Member
May 18, 2013
1,580
399
83
ezerarch.com
The result is a resource pack that turns the default sky into a cheap imitation of the Martian sky.
THIS IS AMAZING!

I tested with my vanilla worlds for a full sol cycle.

2013-09-23_12.57.17.png

I was about to ask about the stars but I've just read an article saying the stars aren't visible. See my post below.
 
Last edited:

Ezer'Arch

Member
May 18, 2013
1,580
399
83
ezerarch.com
I've just discovered Mars sky has visible stars.

Phobos_%26_Deimos_full_thumb.png


"Night sky of Mars showing Deimos (left) and Phobos (right) in front of Sagittarius, as seen by Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on August 26, 2005."

phobosanddeimos1.jpg


Phobos (the bigger one) Deimos.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: wolfboyft

Space Viking

Member
Jun 30, 2013
249
164
43
I've just discovered Mars sky has visible stars.

Did it come out as I where implying the resourcepack lacked stars for intentional reasons? What I meant is a technical issue causes the removal of the original night sky, which I "solved" by using a cheap noise texture as a placeholder. I may easily be replaced by another texture if one wishes.
 

Ezer'Arch

Member
May 18, 2013
1,580
399
83
ezerarch.com
@claudiofm (EDIT: his post was removed):

First, hello. Let me teach you the basics in scientific discussion. Certainly professors will teach you when you get the college but I'll anticipate the information for you:

1) In a scientific debate, consider the possibility you are wrong and be civil. Never shove "your" truth in people's face just because you believe it.

2) If you claim something, cite the sources. As recommended by Wikipedia, "please exercise caution before relying upon unsourced claims. Provide reliable source for the claim". Which company, agency, book, article claims that? Unless, you have your own space agency and you have sent probes yourself, did you?

For example:
"Mars has no oxygen". Where and when did NASA say it? Who told you that Mars has no oxygen? Mars does have oxygen, but it is just 0.13% of the atmosphere, while Earth's atmosphere is 20.95% oxygen.

You said "NASA lies". Why should I believe you? Please, cite the sources.

If lack literature is a problem, I can offer you 230 sources so you can read and learn: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars#References

3) If you disagree with something, make sure that you have understood the information with which you do not agree and you are informed enough about the subject before making assumptions.

For example:
"oxygen and water in the atmosphere, ideal environment for life"
Yes! Mars has oxygen and water, but this is NOT ENOUGH to support life and it is far from "ideal environment". You forgot to learn that atmospheric pressure, composition, temperature and radiation levels are important factors. Mars' atmosphere pressure is so low that liquid water boils. First, learn what is needed to support life. Venus also has water in its atmosphere but that planet is the perfect meaning for "ideal hell" when it comes to supporting life.


4) When it comes to scientific data, make sure that you have learned how this data is obtained and processed. Pictures and raw data ARE processed and edited for scientific purposes and public availability. You should know it. Just because 2 images are different from each other it does not mean that someone lied, this just does mean that both images were taken through different equipments. Depending on the filters, lens, light exposure, temperature, gamma, color channel you can get different photographs from the same object. So basic knowledge in optics and photography is also welcome.


5) You need to know something simple that exists in ANY language, including Spanish, that is Figure of Speech.

If people say "Mars is red", this does not mean that it is red only, but its color palette is predominantly red containing a large gradient of colors ranging from light yellow, orange, red, dark red, brown, write, beige, maroon and so on so that people ended up calling it "red planet".

----

All in all, NASA is not the only agency that has sent probes and made researches about Mars, also have agencies from Russia, Japan, Germany, England and China. Learn from them if you do not trust NASA.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: obsidianpower790

Share this page