NASA's Curiosity rover has captured a surreal yet stunning view of a Martian sunset from a vantage point situated in Gale Crater. 

However, sunsets on Mars are not always red orange like here on Earth, as the image reveal the sun dipping low on an alien horizon with the most remarkable blue colored sun and sunset skies.

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In order to document this event, Curiosity utitlized its Mast Camera (Mastcam) to record the sunset while observing the Martian night sky last April 15, 2015.

This imaging event was accomplished between dust storms when dust still loomed over the atmosphere in higher elevations.

These observations can provide data for scientists to assess and analyze the vertical distribution of dust occurring on the Red Planet. According to Mark Lemmon from the Texas A&M University in College Station, these colors originate from very fine dust where the dust possesses a specific right size for blue light to penetrate the atmosphere more efficiently. 

This blue light scatters off dust as it stays in close proximity with the sun's direction rather than with the other colors from the light.

Lemmon adds that the rest of the sky is tinged with yellow to orange hues since red and yellow light are scattered all over as opposed to being absorbed or staying close to the direction of the sun.

Sunsets on Earth are vivid with yellow, orange and red tones while Martian sunsets are bluish grey as the blue color near the sunlight makes the sky look more prominent as normal Martian daylight enhances the rusty color of the dust. 

To date, NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has been exploring the Gale Crater by studying and analyzing its terrain and chemical composition of the planet. This image is taken on the mission's 956th day on Mars.

TagsNASA, Curiosity Rover, Mars, sunset on Mars, photo sunset on Mars