Clouds on Mars?

Hi all,

Here are a few images of Mars from the 22nd. I keep noticing those white spots on the planet, they seem to be ice clouds? Any thoughts?

Equipment used:

Vixen VC200L @ f/16 and f/45
Toucam Pro + IR filter
Televue 5x powermate
Sharpcap/Registax 5, PS6

Attached Image:

Hi Nick. Nice work! I'd say those are clouds. Not an uncommon thing on Mars, but a great catch nevertheless!

Yep, clouds all right. Some storms last weeks there.
Nice shots!
Steve
8)

Article about the recent unusual cloud activity on Mars spotted by amateur Wayne
Jaeschke of Pennsylvania on March 20, 2012:

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Mysterious cloud spotted on Mars

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/23/10831821-mysterious-cloud-spotted-on-mars

By Alan Boyle

Amateur astronomers are puzzling over a seemingly anomalous cloud that has shown
up on images of Mars taken over the past few days. Is it really a cloud, or a
trick of the eye? Does it really extend 150 miles up from the surface, as some
of the observers suggest? And what churned up all that stuff, anyway? The
amateurs and the pros will be trying to resolve those questions before the
phenomenon fades away.

"It's not completely unexpected," Jonathon Hill, a member of the team at the
Mars Space Flight Facility at Arizona State University, told me today. "But it's
bigger than we would expect, and it's definitely something that our atmosphere
guys want to take a look at."

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The original post is at http://exosky.net/exosky/?p=1606

" ... A martian stumper.

Here's a stumper for any Mars experts. While processing my Mars images from
last night, I found a strange feature over Acidalia (top left of the
animation below). I made this 5-frame animation of the green-light images.
The feature appears in all the channels, but is most visible in blue and
green and least visible in IR. Also, it moves with the planet (ruling out
dust motes on the sensor) and seems to rise over the limb. Fog rolled in
after this, so there is no additional data later than this. If anyone caught
Mars after 2:15UT last night, please check your images. particularly after
2:51UT."

Several other amateurs have also imaged this feature, including Donald Parker:

http://alpo-j.asahikawa-med.ac.jp/kk12/m120321z.htm