HiRISE | Bright Streaks and Dark Fans (PSP_003113

NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Bright Streaks and Dark Fans
PSP_003113_0940 Science Theme: Seasonal Processes

This caption is part of a December 2007 AGU presentation "Spring at the South Pole of Mars."

The south polar region of Mars is covered every year by a layer of carbon dioxide ice. In a region called the "cryptic terrain," the ice is translucent and sunlight can penetrate through the ice to warm the surface below.

The ice layer sublimates (evaporates) from the bottom. The dark fans of dust seen in this image come from the surface below the layer of ice, carried to the top by gas venting from below. The translucent ice is "visible" by virtue of the effect it has on the tone of the surface below, which would otherwise have the same color and reflectivity as the fans.

Bright streaks in this image are fresh frost. The CRISM team has identified the composition of these streaks to be carbon dioxide. Written by: Candy Hansen (24 December 2007)

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Acquisition date:	26 March 2007	Local Mars time:	6:20 PM
Latitude (centered):	-85.8 degrees	Longitude (East):	106.0 degrees
Range to target site:	244.9 km (153.1 miles)	Original image scale range:	49.0 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~147 cm across are resolved
Map projected scale:	50 cm/pixel	Map projection:	POLAR STEREOGRAPHIC
Emission angle:	0.0 degrees	Phase angle:	79.0 degrees
Solar incidence angle:	79 degrees, with the Sun about 11 degrees above the horizon	Solar longitude:	207.6 degrees, Northern Autumn
For non-map projected products:
North azimuth:	149 degrees	Sub-solar azimuth:	33.7 degrees
For map-projected products
North azimuth:	15.98 degrees	Sub solar azimuth:	279.9 degrees

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All of the images produced by HiRISE and accessible on this site are within the public domain: there are no restrictions on their usage by anyone in the public, including news or science organizations. We do ask for a credit line where possible: Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Postscript
For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona. The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey’s ISIS3 software.