Spring Fans
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Spring Fans
ESP_029577_0925  Science Theme: Seasonal Processes
At high latitudes every winter carbon dioxide condenses from Mars' atmosphere onto the surface forming a seasonal polar cap. In the spring, the Sun shines through this semi-translucent layer of dry ice and heats the ground below.

The ice sublimates (goes directly from ice to gas) on the underside of the seasonal ice layer and the gas is trapped. When the pressure is high enough the ice cracks and ruptures allowing the gas to escape. When the conditions are optimal this gas may condense locally near the source, forming a bright fan.

The dark fans are fine bits of surface material that get carried along by the escaping gas up to above the surface ice. Fine particles are also carried downwind and deposited in dark fans on top of the ice, where they may slowly sink into the ice. The rows of dark fans outline the original crack in the ice that allowed the gas to escape.

Written by: Candy Hansen (audio by Tre Gibbs)  (24 January 2013)
 
Acquisition date
17 November 2012

Local Mars time
21:36

Latitude (centered)
-87.302°

Longitude (East)
168.114°

Spacecraft altitude
247.3 km (153.7 miles)

Original image scale range
24.7 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~74 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
25 cm/pixel

Map projection
Polarstereographic

Emission angle
0.6°

Phase angle
81.0°

Solar incidence angle
81°, with the Sun about 9° above the horizon

Solar longitude
208.4°, Northern Autumn

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  179°
Sub-solar azimuth:  34.0°
JPEG
Black and white
map projected  non-map

IRB color
map projected  non-map

Merged IRB
map projected

Merged RGB
map projected

RGB color
non-map projected

JP2
Black and white
map-projected   (767MB)

IRB color
map-projected   (446MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
Black and white
map-projected  (363MB)
non-map           (561MB)

IRB color
map projected  (177MB)
non-map           (420MB)

Merged IRB
map projected  (205MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected  (190MB)

RGB color
non map           (371MB)
ANAGLYPHS
Map-projected, reduced-resolution
Full resolution JP2 download
Anaglyph details page

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
B&W label
Color label
Merged IRB label
Merged RGB label
EDR products
HiView

NB
IRB: infrared-red-blue
RGB: red-green-blue
About color products (PDF)

Black & white is 5 km across; enhanced color about 1 km
For scale, use JPEG/JP2 black & white map-projected images

USAGE POLICY
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:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

POSTSCRIPT
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. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.