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Frosty white water ice clouds and swirling orange dust storms
above a vivid rusty landscape reveal Mars as a dynamic planet in
this sharpest view ever obtained by an Earth-based telescope.
NASA’s Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope took the picture on
June 26, when Mars was approximately 43 million miles (68 million
km) from Earth — the closest Mars has ever been to Earth since
1988. Hubble can see details as small as 10 miles (16 km) across.
The colors have been carefully balanced to give a realistic view
of Mars’ hues as they might appear through a telescope.
Especially striking is the large amount of seasonal dust storm
activity seen in this image. One large storm system is churning
high above the northern polar cap [top of image], and a smaller
dust storm cloud can be seen nearby. Another large dust storm is
spilling out of the giant Hellas impact basin in the Southern Hemisphere
[lower right].
Hubble has observed Mars before, but never in such detail. The
biennial close approaches of Mars and Earth are not all the same.
Mars’ orbit around the Sun is markedly elliptical; the close approaches
to Earth can range from 35 million to 63 million miles.
Astronomers are interested in studying the changeable surface and
weather conditions on Mars, in part, to help plan for a pair of
NASA missions to land rovers on the planet’s surface in 2004.
The Mars opposition of 2001 serves as a prelude for 2003 when Mars
and Earth will come within 35 million miles of each other, the closest
since 1924 and not to be matched until 2287.
Image Credit:
NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Acknowledgment: J. Bell (Cornell U.), P. James (U. Toledo),
M. Wolff (Space Science Institute), A. Lubenow (STScI),
J. Neubert (MIT/Cornell)
