HiRISE | Bright Spots on Desolate Plains (ESP_088767

NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

Bright Spots on Desolate Plains
ESP_088767_2550 Science Theme: Glacial/Periglacial Processes

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HiRISE has been observing widespread small bright patches on the plains around the Martian North Pole. These patches appear to be persistent water frost or ice, lasting well into the summer and in some cases all the way through it.

This demonstrates that the ice is perennial or nearly so, meaning that the environment is close to conditions where surface ice can accumulate and survive. This image was acquired to monitor some larger perennial deposits near the center as well as widespread, small bright spots throughout most of the observation. The image is after Martian northern summer solstice, the equivalent of early July for Earth.

Written by: HiRISE Team (9 September 2025)

Acquisition date
04 July 2025

Local Mars time
14:45

Latitude (centered)
75.004°

Longitude (East)
224.996°

Spacecraft altitude
314.2 km (195.3 miles)

Original image scale range
62.9 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~189 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
50 cm/pixel

Map projection
Polarstereographic

Emission angle
2.2°

Phase angle
57.1°

Solar incidence angle
55°, with the Sun about 35° above the horizon

Solar longitude
105.7°, Northern Summer

For non-map projected images
North azimuth: 102°
Sub-solar azimuth: 329.1°

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   (280MB)

IRB color
map-projected   (92MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
Black and white
map-projected (184MB)
non-map           (141MB)

IRB color
map projected (59MB)
non-map           (71MB)

Merged IRB
map projected (280MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected (264MB)

RGB color
non map           (123MB)

BONUS
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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.