Tag Archives: south polar ice cap

THEMIS: Clouds on a summer’s day

Posted on December 18, 2018 by rburnham

THEMIS Image of the Day, December 18, 2018. During southern summer, clouds are a common occurrence over the south polar cap. These dust clouds started as small dust devils visible near the top right corner of this VIS image. See … Continue reading →

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THEMIS: Cloudy day over the south polar ice cap

Posted on December 17, 2018 by rburnham

THEMIS Image of the Day, December 17, 2018. This VIS image shows a layer of clouds over the south polar cap. See more THEMIS Images of the Day by geological subject.

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HiRISE: The enduring charm of spiders

Posted on December 11, 2018 by rburnham

Araneiform terrain (colloquially: spider-like terrain) is located in the south polar region of Mars and evolves in appearance over the spring and summer. In the season shown here, the thin bright lines on the surface (the spider legs) are troughs … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: Swiss cheese on a red planet

Posted on December 10, 2018 by rburnham

The Martian south polar cap is a layer of carbon dioxide ice, full of pits that make it look like Swiss cheese. The pits form when the Sun heats the ice and makes it sublimate (transform from a solid to … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: The changing climate of Mars

Posted on November 27, 2018 by rburnham

A story of changes in the climate of Mars is told by icy deposits. Remnants of a formerly extensive deposit composed of dry ice layered together with dust and water ice form what is known as the south polar residual … Continue reading →

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THEMIS: South polar ice cap textures

Posted on November 12, 2018 by rburnham

THEMIS Image of the Day, November 12, 2018. This VIS image shows part of the south polar cap. This image was collected near the end of the southern spring season. See more THEMIS Images of the Day by geological subject.

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HiRISE: Geyser season

Posted on November 2, 2018 by rburnham

Springtime in the South Polar region of Mars is a season of exciting activity. The thick coating of carbon dioxide ice that accumulated over the winter begins to sublimate (turn to vapor) as the sun rises higher in the sky … Continue reading →

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THEMIS: Swiss cheese and other ice cap textures

Posted on October 31, 2018 by rburnham

THEMIS Image of the Day, October 31, 2018. There are several different surface textures in the South Polar ice. The surface in this image with the round/semi round depressions is informally called Swiss cheese. See more THEMIS Images of the … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: We’ll always have the South Pole

Posted on August 13, 2018 by rburnham

We’ll always have the South Pole. While the global dust storm has obscured much of the surface, we’ve still been able to get some good images of the polar region. Can you also spot the example of pareidolia here? Beautiful … Continue reading →

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Mars CO2 ice cap throughout the martian year

Posted on August 9, 2018 by rburnham

This animation shows a side-by-side comparison of CO2 ice at the north (left) and south (right) Martian poles over the course of a typical year (two Earth years). This simulation isn’t based on photos; instead, the data used to create … Continue reading →

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