A South Polar Pit or an Impact Crater?
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
A South Polar Pit or an Impact Crater?
ESP_049972_0930  Science Theme: Polar Geology
It is late summer in the Southern Hemisphere, so the Sun is low in the sky and subtle topography is accentuated in orbital images.

We see many shallow pits in the bright residual cap of carbon dioxide ice (also called “Swiss cheese terrain”). There is also a deeper, circular formation that penetrates through the ice and dust. This might be an impact crater or it could be a collapse pit.

Written by: Alfred McEwen (narration: Tre Gibbs)  (30 May 2017)

This is a stereo pair with ESP_049945_0930.
 
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