HiRISE | Translucent Ice in North Polar Region (PSP_009696

NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

Translucent Ice in North Polar Region
PSP_009696_2575 Science Theme: Seasonal Processes

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This polar terrain is located near the north pole. The bright patch of material is ice, which might have been deposited in the previous winter.

After ice in the form of surface frost is deposited from the atmosphere, it experiences changes throughout the Martian year. Some of the ice has a polygonal texture which probably formed when temperature variations created stress and cracks in the ice.

The dark features scattered throughout the scene are dunes. The streaks emanating from the dunes trending in the southwest direction indicate the dominant direction of the wind in recent times.

Written by: Kelly Kolb (8 October 2008)

This is a stereo pair with PSP_009736_2575.

Acquisition date
21 August 2008

Local Mars time
14:27

Latitude (centered)
77.496°

Longitude (East)
300.114°

Spacecraft altitude
317.0 km (197.0 miles)

Original image scale range
64.2 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~193 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
50 cm/pixel

Map projection
Polarstereographic

Emission angle
8.8°

Phase angle
65.3°

Solar incidence angle
58°, with the Sun about 32° above the horizon

Solar longitude
115.6°, Northern Summer

For non-map projected images
North azimuth: 107°
Sub-solar azimuth: 326.5°

JPEG
Black and white
map projected  non-map

IRB color
map projected  non-map

Merged IRB
map projected

Merged RGB
map projected

RGB color
non-map projected

JP2
Black and white
map-projected   (665MB)

IRB color
map-projected   (367MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
Black and white
map-projected (404MB)
non-map           (283MB)

IRB color
map projected (198MB)
non-map           (255MB)

Merged IRB
map projected (642MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected (604MB)

RGB color
non map           (245MB)

ANAGLYPHS
Map-projected, reduced-resolution
Full resolution JP2 download
Anaglyph details page

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
B&W label
Color label
Merged IRB label
Merged RGB label
EDR products
HiView

NB
IRB: infrared-red-blue
RGB: red-green-blue
About color products (PDF)

Black & white is 5 km across; enhanced color about 1 km
For scale, use JPEG/JP2 black & white map-projected images

USAGE POLICY
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:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

POSTSCRIPT
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. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.