NASA’s Viking 1 lander first captured an incredible image of what a sunset looked like on Mars way back in 1976. Robots that came after Viking 1 have since transmitted multiple views of Martian sunrises and sunsets, including the one you see above. Geronimo Villanueva, a planetary scientist from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, decided to take things one step further.
He created sunset simulations for other planets and moons while building a computer modeling tool that could be used on a future mission to Uranus. In the near future, such a probe could descend through the Uranian atmosphere and interpret the measurements of light that will hopefully reveal its chemical composition.
Celestron - AstroMaster 70AZ Telescope - Refractor Telescope - Fully Coated Glass Optics - Adjustable Height Tripod – Bonus Astronomy Software Package
- Powerful refractor telescope: The Celestron AstroMaster 70AZ is a powerful and user-friendly refractor telescope with fully coated glass optics, a sturdy yet lightweight frame, 2 eyepieces, a red dot finder scope, and an adjustable-height tripod.
- High-quality 70mm optics: Our Celestron telescope features a powerful, fully coated 70mm glass optic objective lens. Erect image optics allow you to observe celestial objects at night and terrestrial targets like wildlife and landscapes during the day.
- Quick setup & lightweight frame: This telescope for adults features a lightweight frame and a panning handle with Alt-Az control for smooth and accurate pointing. Setup is quick and easy, with no tools required.
- Included accessories: We’ve included 2 eyepieces (20mm and 10mm), an erect image star diagonal, a travel tripod, and a red dot finder scope. Download our BONUS Starry Night Basic Edition astronomy software for interactive sky simulation.
To ensure the accuracy of his tool, Villanueva simulated the known sky colors of Uranus as well as those of other planets, some of which are shown above. As these celestial objects rotate away from the light of the Sun, which is what happens during a sunset, photons are scattered in different directions depending on the energy of the photons as well as the types of molecules in the atmospheres. This results in a brilliant palette of colors that would be visible to those standing on these planets.
