A pit in the dry-ice polar cap of Mars
Click for full image.
This cool image is possibly of some of the most alien terrain on Mars. The photo to the right, rotated and cropped to post here, shows a pit (not a peak) in the dry-ice cap that covers a small portion of the southern polar ice cap on Mars. North is up. It was taken on June 16, 2022 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). In fact, at 88 degrees south latitude, the image is just about as far south as it is possible for MRO to take pictures. Beyond this the orbit does not reach.
If you look close, you can see that there are several distinct layers in the sunlight eastern interior slopes of the pit. The base of the pit itself appears to have ripples, as if their might be Martian dust trapped inside.
This is a very cold and alien place. The ground is made of dry ice. The temperatures are always cold, well below minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you look at the full image, you will see that, except for the very tiny pit nearby to the east, this pit is all by itself. If the underlying terrain caused this sinkhole to form, why only here?
The overview map below shows the location, which might help explain things.
The yellow cross marks the pit’s location, right on the northeastern edge of the dry-ice cap. In fact, it appears this location is just off the edge, but of course, there is some uncertainty as to the edge’s location. Regardless, being near the edge suggests an explanation for the pit. This region is where the dry-ice cap begins to disappear, allowing for features like pits to form.
The location also suggests that we might be looking at the cap of frozen water that underlies the dry ice. That ice might be at the base of the pit. It might be in one of the layers along its interior slope. And though the scientists label this image as a pit in the dry-ice cap, it could very well be that everything here is frozen ice, not dry ice.
Ah, the uncertainty of science! Ain’t it fun?
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
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Click for full image.
This cool image is possibly of some of the most alien terrain on Mars. The photo to the right, rotated and cropped to post here, shows a pit (not a peak) in the dry-ice cap that covers a small portion of the southern polar ice cap on Mars. North is up. It was taken on June 16, 2022 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). In fact, at 88 degrees south latitude, the image is just about as far south as it is possible for MRO to take pictures. Beyond this the orbit does not reach.
If you look close, you can see that there are several distinct layers in the sunlight eastern interior slopes of the pit. The base of the pit itself appears to have ripples, as if their might be Martian dust trapped inside.
This is a very cold and alien place. The ground is made of dry ice. The temperatures are always cold, well below minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you look at the full image, you will see that, except for the very tiny pit nearby to the east, this pit is all by itself. If the underlying terrain caused this sinkhole to form, why only here?
The overview map below shows the location, which might help explain things.
The yellow cross marks the pit’s location, right on the northeastern edge of the dry-ice cap. In fact, it appears this location is just off the edge, but of course, there is some uncertainty as to the edge’s location. Regardless, being near the edge suggests an explanation for the pit. This region is where the dry-ice cap begins to disappear, allowing for features like pits to form.
The location also suggests that we might be looking at the cap of frozen water that underlies the dry ice. That ice might be at the base of the pit. It might be in one of the layers along its interior slope. And though the scientists label this image as a pit in the dry-ice cap, it could very well be that everything here is frozen ice, not dry ice.
Ah, the uncertainty of science! Ain’t it fun?
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
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