- Original Caption Released with Image:
-
17 October 2006
The middle portion of the northern summer season is the ideal time of
year to capture relatively dust- and haze-free views of martian north
polar terrain. This year, much more of the north polar cap has sublimed
away than has been evident in previous northern summers going back to
1999, when Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) began the Mapping Phase of the
mission. This MGS Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a nearly ice-free
view of layers exposed by erosion in the north polar region. The
light-toned patches are remnants of water ice frost. The layers are
generally considered by the Mars scientific community to be record of past
depositions of ice and dust. This picture is located near 82.5°N, 118.6°W,
and covers an area about 3 km by 10 km (1.9 by 6.2 miles). Sunlight
illuminates the scene from the upper left; the image was acquired on 22
September 2006.
- Image Credit:
-
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
|
