Tag Archives: south polar ice cap

THEMIS: South polar cap layers

THEMIS Image of the Day, March 3, 2017. This VIS image shows the layering of the South Polar cap of Mars. The image is located at the margin between the cap ice and the surrounding plains (bottom of image). More … Continue reading

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THEMIS: Pages from the south polar climate history book

THEMIS Image of the Day, February 22, 2017. Today’s VIS image shows part of the south polar cap. It is now summer in the region and the surface frosts are gone. The layers of ice comprising the cap are now … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Wide, branching channels

Southern spring on Mars brings sublimation of the seasonal dry ice polar cap. Gas trapped under the seasonal ice sheet carves channels on its way to escaping to the atmosphere. At this site, the channels are wider than we see … Continue reading

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HiRISE: South polar residual ice cap

At the south polar residual cap. Beautiful Mars series.

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3D images reveal Mars polar ice cap features

Three-dimensional subsurface images are revealing structures within the Martian polar ice caps, including previously obscured layering, a larger volume of frozen carbon dioxide contained in the south polar cap, and bowl-shaped features that may be buried impact craters within both … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Coolest landscape on Mars or Earth

Many Martian landscapes contain features that are familiar to ones we find on Earth, like river valleys, cliffs, glaciers and volcanos. However, Mars has an exotic side too, with landscapes that are alien to Earthlings. This image shows one of … Continue reading

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Hunting ice cap ‘spiders’ through citizen science

Ten thousand volunteers viewing images of Martian south polar regions have helped identify targets for closer inspection, yielding new insights about seasonal slabs of frozen carbon dioxide and erosional features known as “spiders.” From the comfort of home, the volunteers … Continue reading

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THEMIS: Swiss-cheese terrain on south polar cap

THEMIS Image of the Day, October 4, 2016. This VIS image of the South Polar cap shows several different surface textures. It appears that the circular depressions (which look like swiss cheese) alter with time, appearing to lose the circular … Continue reading

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THEMIS: South polar ice cap layers

THEMIS Image of the Day, October 3, 2016. This VIS image shows some of the multiple layers of ice that make up the South Polar cap. More THEMIS Images of the Day by geological topic.

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THEMIS: South polar ice cap textures

THEMIS Image of the Day, September 27, 2016. This VIS image shows part of the South Polar cap. As spring moves into the summer the surface frost is reduced and the surface texture of the ice is revealed. More THEMIS … Continue reading

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