For decades, scientists believed that Mars’s famous red hue came mainly from hematite, a dry iron oxide mineral. However, a ...

But a new study in Nature Communications suggests that the answer may be in so-called ferrihydrite, a mineral made of iron oxide that contains plenty of water. The news comes courtesy of an ...

Findings suggested that the Red Planet got its color from ferrihydrite, a form of iron oxide that needs water to form, rather than hematite — which is what’s been long thought as the reason be ...

The new explanation for the reddish color – the rusty-colored dust known as ferrihydrite – also will help our understanding of the history of water and the possibility of life on Mars.

"From our analysis, we believe ferrihydrite is everywhere in the dust and also probably in the rock formations, as well. We're not the first to consider ferrihydrite as the reason for why Mars is ...

The new analysis points to a different type of iron oxide that contains water called ferrihydrite, which forms quickly in cool water — and likely formed on Mars when water could still exist on ...

In a recent study, SETI Institute planetary scientist Dr. Janice Bishop along with Adomas Valantinas, a postdoctoral researcher from Brown University, proposed that Mars’s characteristic red hue is ...

Ultimately, the team concluded that Martian iron oxide is actually ferrihydrite: an iron oxide compound that forms when iron reacts with oxygen and cool water. “We were trying to create a ...

The scientists proceeded to mix ferric nitrate with potassium hydroxide, creating a hard iron oxide mineral called nanocrystalline ferrihydrite, which occurs naturally in soil and water.