00:00this is olympus mons the largest volcano in the solar system however it's not on earth this massive
00:10volcano is on the surface of mars and it's at the center of a recent landmark discovery astronomers
00:16say they have just observed frost forming on the peak of the giant shield volcano for the first
00:20time ever experts have long believed that mars had an active albeit limited water cycle with
00:25around 150 000 tons of water going between the atmosphere and the surface every day of course
00:31we're not talking about rain like on earth instead on mars that cycle commonly consists of giant blocks
00:36of carbon dioxide forming when night falls during the winter months similar to dry ice when it warms
00:41up again that ice turns directly back into a gas and diffuses into the atmosphere once again however
00:47there is also water ice present on mars and experts believe the recent frost dustings on mars's tharsis
00:52volcanoes is that they say the frost layer is only around the width of a human hair but the amount
00:57of land area it covers means it is not an insignificant amount this is the first time that water frost has
01:03been observed this close to the red planet's equator something previously believed highly improbable
