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The Two Faces of Mars
These two images, taken 11 hours apart with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, reveal two nearly opposite sides of Mars. Hubble snapped these photos as the red planet was making its closest approach to Earth in almost 60,000 years. Mars completed nearly one half a rotation between the two observations.
The image at left was assembled from a series of exposures taken between 6:20 p.m. and 7:12 p.m. EDT Aug. 26 with Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. Hubble snapped this photo when Mars and Earth were 34,648,840 miles (55,760,220 km) apart.
The prominent Martian features in this photo are Syrtis Major, the "shark-fin" shape on the right and the Hellas impact basin, the circular feature near the center of the image.
The image at right was snapped within minutes of the red planet's close rendezvous with Earth, when the two planets were 34,647,420 miles (55,757,930 km) apart. Mars is a mere 1,400 miles closer to Earth in this picture than in the one taken 11 hours earlier. This photo was assembled from a series of exposures taken between 5:35 a.m. and 6:20 a.m. EDT Aug. 27 with Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2.
The striking features in this portrait are Olympus Mons [the oval-shaped object just above center], the largest volcano in the solar system and Solis Lacus, an immense dark marking also known as the "Eye of Mars" [below, right].
Both images show most of the southern polar ice cap. The pictures were taken during the middle of summer in the Southern Hemisphere. During this season the Sun shines continuously on the southern polar ice cap, causing the cap to shrink in size [bottom of image]. The orange streaks are indications of dust activity over the polar cap.
About the Object
- DistanceDistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.Distance from the Sun: The semi-major axis of Mars' orbit about the sun is 1.52 Astronomical Units (A.U.) or 142 million miles (228 million km); Distance from the Earth: At the 2003 closest approach, Mars was approximately 35 million miles (56 million kilometers) from Earth.
- DimensionsDimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.The planet has a diameter of 4,222 miles (6,794 kilometers) at the equator.
About the Data
- Data DescriptionData 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.These data are taken from HST proposal 10065 by J. Bell (Cornell U.), M. Wolff (Space Science Institute), A. Lubenow (STScI), and K. Noll (STScI). Additional image processing and analysis support from: K. Noll and A. Lubenow (STScI); M. Hubbard (Cornell U.); R. Morris (NASA/JSC); P. James (U. Toledo); S. Lee (U. Colorado); and T. Clancy, B. Whitney and G. Videen (SSI); and Y. Shkuratov (Kharkov U.). - InstrumentInstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.HST>WFPC2
- Exposure DatesExposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.August 26 - 27, 2003
- FiltersFiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.August 26 image (left): F410M (B), F502N (V), and F631N (R) August 27 image (right): F410M (B), F502N (V), and F673N (R)
- Object NameObject NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.Mars
- Object DescriptionObject DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.Planet
- Release DateAugust 27, 2003
- Science ReleaseMars: Closest Encounter
- CreditsNASA, J. Bell (Cornell U.) and M. Wolff (SSI); Additional image processing and analysis support from: K. Noll and A. Lubenow (STScI); M. Hubbard (Cornell U.); R. Morris (NASA/JSC); P. James (U. Toledo); S. Lee (U. Colorado); and T. Clancy, B. Whitney and G. Videen (SSI); and Y. Shkuratov (Kharkov U.)
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Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
