It may be known as the red planet, but sunsets on Mars are blue. Nasa has released a new video on the social media site Vine showing the sun dipping towards the Martian horizon, captured by its exploratory rover Opportunity. The time-lapse video of the eerie sunset was created by piecing together images taken by Opportunity. The images show a darker, dustier sky than here on Earth that perhaps loses some of the romance that often accompanies sunset on our own planet. Two strange, cloud-like plumes reaching high above the surface of Mars have created a stir among scientists.
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Nasa's Opportunity rover captured the sunset from the surface of Mars
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Dust in the atmosphere scatters red light making the sunset appear blue
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The effect produces an eerie yet beautiful contrast to the orange landscape
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Twilight on Mars can continue for up to two hours after the sun has set
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Opportunity has experienced 3,940 sunsets during its mission to Mars
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Scientists use the Martian sunsets to study dust and ice in the atmosphere
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If this is the case, the Martian 'aurora' would be a remarkable 1,000 times brighter than its  equivalent on @placeholder.
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On @placeholder our own atmosphere scatters blue light creating the red and orange shades that light up the sky at sun down.
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The red planet receives just 40 per cent of the light we experience on @placeholder, meaning the sky appears much darker as the sun begins to fall towards the horizon.