More Images of Mars
1
Sun, Earth, Mars
This schematic depicts the relative positions of the
Sun, Earth and Mars at the time of the observation on
July 4, 2001. Chandra was scheduled to observe Mars
when it was only 70 million kilometers from Earth, and
also near the point in its orbit when it is closest to
the Sun. (Not to scale)
(Schematic:
NASA/NASA/CXC/M.Weiss)
2
Hubble Optical (26 June 2001)
Frosty white water ice clouds and swirling orange dust
storms above a vivid rusty landscape reveal Mars as a
dynamic planet in this sharp image. The Earth-orbiting
Hubble telescope snapped this picture on June 26, when
Mars was approximately 43 million miles (68 million km)
from Earth -- its closest approach to our planet since
1988. The disk of Mars was fully illuminated as seen
from Earth because Mars was exactly opposite the Sun.
Hubble can see details as small as 10 miles (16 km)
across. Especially striking is the large amount of
seasonal dust storm activity seen in this image. One
large storm system is churning high above the northern
polar cap [top of image], and a smaller dust storm
cloud can be seen nearby. Another large duststorm is
spilling out of the giant Hellas impact basin in the
Southern Hemisphere [lower right].
(Credit: NASA, J.Bell (Cornell),
M.Wolff (SSI) and The Hubble Heritage Team
(STScI/AURA))
3
Hubble Optical (04
Sept 2001)
When Hubble photographed Mars on September 4, 2001, a global dust
storm had been raging across the planet for nearly two months, obscuring
all surface features. The fine airborne dust blocks a significant
amount of sunlight from reaching the Martian surface. This picture
was taken when Mars was 60 million miles from Earth.
(Credit: NASA, J.Bell (Cornell), M.Wolff (SSI)
and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)) More Information:
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/2001/31/
4
Chandra X-ray (orange color
scheme)
This remarkable Chandra image gave scientists their
first look at X-rays from Mars. In the sparse upper
atmosphere of Mars, about 120 (75 miles) kilometers
above its surface, the observed X-rays are produced by
fluorescent radiation from oxygen atoms.
(Credit: NASA/CXC/MPE/K.Dennerl
et al.)
5
Chandra X-ray Image with Scale Bar
Scale bar = 30 arcsec
Credit: NASA/CXC/MPE/K.Dennerl et al.
Return to Mars (07 Nov 02)