- Institute of Space Science INFLPR Subsidiary, Magnetometry and Space Plasma Laboratory, Romania, Magurele, Romania (tmaxim@spacescience.ro)
We report on the first known ground-based observations of a relatively recently discovered feature on Mars: the Arsia Mons Elongated Cloud (AMEC). This is the longest such structure in the Solar System, and it was first reported in 2020 using spacecraft data (J. Hernández-Bernal et al.). It was also found in archive images from different space probes, but not detected in Earth based images.
During the 2020 Mars Opposition, we obtain ground-based data at the Institute of Space Science in Romania, using a 35 cm telescope. The images clearly show this feature during two different nights, and the evolution of the feature could be observed for several hours.
We present the results that include an analysis of the images using specialized software, including position on the Martian globe and measurements of the cloud structure.
- Hernández-Bernal, A. Sánchez-Lavega, T. del Río-Gaztelurrutia, et al. (2020), JGR Planets, Volume126, 3, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JE007352.
How to cite: Teodorescu, M.: First Earth-based observations of the Arsia Mons Elongated Cloud (AMEC) on Mars, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-19523, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-19523, 2026.
