Polar Pits: Are They Active?
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Polar Pits: Are They Active?
PSP_009834_2645  Science Theme: Polar Geology
This 2008 image shows a portion of the North Polar layered deposits with lines of very small pits, only about 1 meter in diameter.

Such small pits should be quickly filled in by seasonal ice and dust, so their existence suggests active processes such as faults pulling apart the icy layers.

Written by: Alfred McEwen  (27 February 2017)

This is a stereo pair with PSP_009873_2645.
 
Acquisition date
31 August 2008

Local Mars time
14:39

Latitude (centered)
84.550°

Longitude (East)
134.723°

Spacecraft altitude
320.4 km (199.2 miles)

Original image scale range
33.3 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~100 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
25 cm/pixel

Map projection
Polarstereographic

Emission angle
15.9°

Phase angle
51.8°

Solar incidence angle
64°, with the Sun about 26° above the horizon

Solar longitude
120.6°, Northern Summer

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  104°
Sub-solar azimuth:  322.7°
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   (1632MB)

IRB color
map-projected   (707MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
Black and white
map-projected  (819MB)
non-map           (583MB)

IRB color
map projected  (241MB)
non-map           (496MB)

Merged IRB
map projected  (475MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected  (435MB)

RGB color
non map           (422MB)
ANAGLYPHS
Map-projected, reduced-resolution
Full resolution JP2 download
Anaglyph details page

BONUS
4K (TIFF)
8K (TIFF)

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.