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?
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
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?
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
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