| It is now spring in the northern hemisphere of Mars!
Northern spring began in June 2000, and sunlight is now lighting up
most of the north polar cap each day. At this time, frost left-over from
the recent winter is slowly disappearing and exposing underlying northern
plains and sand dunes. The picture here shows a frost-covered portion of
the vast dune fields that surround the north polar cap as they appeared
on July 22, 2000. In summer, the dunes are dark, but in winter and early
spring they are covered with bright frost. Small dark spots and streaks
indicate areas where the frost has begun to disappear.
This Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera image covers an area 2.3
km (1.4 mi) wide by 7.7 km (4.8 mi) long.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems. |
