|
Collection:
|
|
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
|
|
Title:
|
|
Hubble's Sharpest View Of Mars
Title
Hubble's Sharpest View Of Mars
Title
|
|
Original Caption Released with Image:
|
The sharpest view of Mars ever taken from Earth was obtained by the recently refurbished NASA Hubble Space Telescope (HST). This stunning portrait was taken with the HST Wide Field Planetary Camera-2 (WFPC2) on March 10, 1997, just before Mars opposition, when the red planet made one of its closest passes to the Earth (about 60 million miles or 100 million km). At this distance, a single picture element (pixel) in WFPC2's Planetary Camera spans 13 miles (22 km) on the Martian surface. The Martian north pole is at the top (near the center of the bright polar cap) and East is to the right. The center of the disk is at about 23 degrees north latitude, and the central longitude is near 305 degrees. This view of Mars was taken on the last day of Martian spring in the northern hemisphere (just before summer solstice). It clearly shows familiar bright and dark markings known to astronomers for more than a century. The annual north polar carbon dioxide frost (dry ice) cap is rapidly sublimating (evaporating from solid to gas), revealing the much smaller permanent water ice cap, along with a few nearby detached regions of surface frost. The receding polar cap also reveals the dark, circular sea of sand dunes that surrounds the north pole (Olympia Planitia). Other prominent features in this hemisphere include Syrtis Major Planitia, the large dark feature seen just below the center of the disk. The giant impact basin Hellas (near the bottom of the disk) is shrouded in bright water ice clouds. Water ice clouds also cover several great volcanos in the Elysium region near the eastern edge of the planet (right). A diffuse water ice haze covers much of the Martian equatorial region as well. The WFPC2 was used to monitor dust storm activity to support the Mars Pathfinder and Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter Missions, which are currently en route to Mars. Airborne dust is most easily seen in WFPC2's red and near-infrared images. Hubble's "weather report" from these images in invaluable for Mars Pathfinder, which is scheduled for a July 4 landing. Fortunately, these images show no evidence for large-scale dust storm activity, which plagued a previous Mars mission in the early 1970s. The WFPC2 was used to observe Mars in nine different colors spanning the ultraviolet to the near infrared. The specific colors were chosen to clearly discriminate between airborne dust, ice clouds, and prominent Martian surface features. This picture was created by combining images taken in blue (433 nm), green (554 nm), and red (763 nm) colored filters. This image and other images and data received from the Hubble Space Telescope are posted on the World Wide Web on the Space Telescope Science Institute home page at URL http://oposite.stsc…
Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image
The sharpest view of Mars ever taken from Earth was obtained by the recently refurbished NASA Hubble Space Telescope (HST). This stunning portrait was taken with the HST Wide Field Planetary Camera-2 (WFPC2) on March 10, 1997, just before Mars opposition, when the red planet made one of its closest passes to the Earth (about 60 million miles or 100 million km). At this distance, a single picture element (pixel) in WFPC2's Planetary Camera spans 13 miles (22 km) on the Martian surface. The Martian north pole is at the top (near the center of the bright polar cap) and East is to the right. The center of the disk is at about 23 degrees north latitude, and the central longitude is near 305 degrees. This view of Mars was taken on the last day of Martian spring in the northern hemisphere (just before summer solstice). It clearly shows familiar bright and dark markings known to astronomers for more than a century. The annual north polar carbon dioxide frost (dry ice) cap is rapidly sublimating (evaporating from solid to gas), revealing the much smaller permanent water ice cap, along with a few nearby detached regions of surface frost. The receding polar cap also reveals the dark, circular sea of sand dunes that surrounds the north pole (Olympia Planitia). Other prominent features in this hemisphere include Syrtis Major Planitia, the large dark feature seen just below the center of the disk. The giant impact basin Hellas (near the bottom of the disk) is shrouded in bright water ice clouds. Water ice clouds also cover several great volcanos in the Elysium region near the eastern edge of the planet (right). A diffuse water ice haze covers much of the Martian equatorial region as well. The WFPC2 was used to monitor dust storm activity to support the Mars Pathfinder and Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter Missions, which are currently en route to Mars. Airborne dust is most easily seen in WFPC2's red and near-infrared images. Hubble's "weather report" from these images in invaluable for Mars Pathfinder, which is scheduled for a July 4 landing. Fortunately, these images show no evidence for large-scale dust storm activity, which plagued a previous Mars mission in the early 1970s. The WFPC2 was used to observe Mars in nine different colors spanning the ultraviolet to the near infrared. The specific colors were chosen to clearly discriminate between airborne dust, ice clouds, and prominent Martian surface features. This picture was created by combining images taken in blue (433 nm), green (554 nm), and red (763 nm) colored filters. This image and other images and data received from the Hubble Space Telescope are posted on the World Wide Web on the Space Telescope Science Institute home page at URL http://oposite.stsc…Original Caption Released with Image
|
|
Addition Date:
|
|
1998-05-02
Addition_Date
1998-05-02
Addition Date
|
|
Produced By:
|
|
JPL
Produced_By
JPL
Produced By
|
|
Mission:
|
|
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
Mission
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
Mission
|
|
Spacecraft:
|
|
Hubble Space Telescope
Spacecraft
Hubble Space Telescope
Spacecraft
|
|
Target Name:
|
|
Mars
Target_Name
Mars
Target Name
|
|
Is a satellite of:
|
|
Sol (our sun)
Is_a_satellite_of
Sol (our sun)
Is a satellite of
|
|
Instrument:
|
|
Wide Field Planetary Camera 2
Instrument
Wide Field Planetary Camera 2
Instrument
|
|
Product Size:
|
|
335 samples x 335 lines
Product_Size
335 samples x 335 lines
Product Size
|
|
Primary Data Set:
|
|
Space Telescope Science Institute
Primary_Data_Set
Space Telescope Science Institute
Primary Data Set
|
|
Producer ID:
|
|
STSCI-PRC97-09A
Producer_ID
STSCI-PRC97-09A
Producer ID
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Sun
facet_what
Sun
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Earth
facet_what
Earth
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Polar
facet_what
Polar
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Mars
facet_what
Mars
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Camera 2
facet_what
Camera 2
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Mars Pathfinder
facet_what
Mars Pathfinder
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Surveyor
facet_what
Surveyor
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Wide Field Planetary Camera 2
facet_what
Wide Field Planetary Camera 2
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter (MGS)
facet_what
Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter (MGS)
facet_what
|
|
facet_where:
|
|
Mars
facet_where
Mars
facet_where
|
|
facet_where:
|
|
Olympia
facet_where
Olympia
facet_where
|
|
facet_where:
|
|
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
|
|
facet_when:
|
|
March 10, 1997
facet_when
March 10, 1997
facet_when
|
|
facet_when_year:
|
|
1997
facet_when_year
1997
facet_when_year
|
|
Image #:
|
|
PIA01249
|
|
UID:
|
|
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA01249
UID
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA01249
UID
|
|
orignial url:
|
orignial_url
orignial url
|
