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Mars Corona

Split image of two panels stacked vertically. In the left corner of the top image is the label Mars Corona, Hubble Space Telescope. This label pertains to both panels. In the top panel, on a black background, an orange and white orb is surrounded by a small, diffuse, grainy, orange halo. The halo appears to have more material on its left side than its right. Under the orb is the label Aphelion: December 31, 2017. In the bottom panel, on a black background, a larger orange and white orb is also surrounded by a diffuse, grainy, orange halo. This halo is wider than the one in the top panel. The halo appears to have more material on its right side than its left. Under the orb is the label Perihelion: December 19, 2016. In both panels, white, polar ice caps and some surface features are visible.

These are far-ultraviolet Hubble images of Mars near its farthest point from the Sun, called aphelion, on December 31, 2017 (top), and near its closest approach to the Sun, called perihelion, on December 19, 2016 (bottom). The atmosphere is clearly brighter and more extended when Mars is close to the Sun.

Reflected sunlight from Mars at these wavelengths shows scattering by atmospheric molecules and haze, while the polar ice caps and some surface features are also visible. Hubble and MAVEN showed that Martian atmospheric conditions change very quickly. When Mars is close to the Sun, water molecules rise very rapidly through the atmosphere, breaking apart and releasing atoms at high altitudes.

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.

    The HST observations include those from programs 14752 (J. Clarke) and 15097 (D. Bhattacharyya)

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    ACS
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    19 Dec 2016 and 31 Dec 2017
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F115LP
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Mars
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Planet
  • Release Date
    September 5, 2024
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Hubble, MAVEN Help Solve the Mystery of Mars’ Escaping Water
    Read the release
  • Credits
    NASA, ESA, STScI, John T. Clarke (Boston University); Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

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  • Unannotated, 1579 × 2000
    jpg (1.79 MB)
Split image of two panels stacked vertically. In the left corner of the top image is the label Mars Corona, Hubble Space Telescope. This label pertains to both panels. In the top panel, on a black background, an orange and white orb is surrounded by a small, diffuse, grainy, orange halo. The halo appears to have more material on its left side than its right. Under the orb is the label Aphelion: December 31, 2017. In the bottom panel, on a black background, a larger orange and white orb is also surrounded by a diffuse, grainy, orange halo. This halo is wider than the one in the top panel. The halo appears to have more material on its right side than its left. Under the orb is the label Perihelion: December 19, 2016. In both panels, white, polar ice caps and some surface features are visible.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

This image is acquired by the ACS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. The color results from assigning a red hue to a monochromatic (grayscale) image.

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 06, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

Science Credit

NASA, ESA, STScI, John Clarke (Boston University)

Image Processing Credit

Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

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