HiRISE | Martian Zambonis? (ESP_013329

NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Martian Zambonis?
ESP_013329_1070 Science Theme: Polar Geology

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This image of Mars' south polar area shows an amazing series of elliptical rings. Could these have been made by a Zamboni on Mars driving around and around on the ice? No, of course not! But the answer in some ways more fun.

The ice caps on Mars are surrounded by a thick stack of layered deposits. HiRISE and other instruments have shown that these layers are composed of dusty ice. Imagine this stack of layers as a cake with alternating layers. Now someone comes and takes a big scoop out of the middle of the cake! While our first reaction might be to get mad at them for ruining the cake, take a moment to think what the pattern would look like: it would have rings going round and round the hole. This is what we are seeing in this image of Mars.

Some erosional process has scooped a big hole into the layered deposits. So, no Zamboni, but we do have giant scoops digging into layer-cakes of ice!Written by: Laszlo P. Keszthelyi (1 July 2009)

This is a stereo pair with ESP_013527_1070.

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Acquisition date:	31 May 2009	Local Mars time:	3:13 PM
Latitude (centered):	-72.7 degrees	Longitude (East):	147.6 degrees
Range to target site:	250.1 km (156.3 miles)	Original image scale range:	25.0 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~75 cm across are resolved
Map projected scale:	25 cm/pixel	Map projection:	POLAR STEREOGRAPHIC
Emission angle:	8.5 degrees	Phase angle:	61.0 degrees
Solar incidence angle:	54 degrees, with the Sun about 36 degrees above the horizon	Solar longitude:	276.1 degrees, Northern Winter
For non-map projected products:
North azimuth:	99 degrees	Sub-solar azimuth:	40.7 degrees
For map-projected products
North azimuth:	57.65 degrees	Sub solar azimuth:	1.067 degrees

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All of the images produced by HiRISE and accessible on this site are within the public domain: there are no restrictions on their usage by anyone in the public, including news or science organizations. We do ask for a credit line where possible: Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Postscript
For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona. The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey’s ISIS3 software.