Icy hills in Australe Scopuli
A stunning perspective view across icy hills in the Australe Scopuli region near the south pole of Mars.
Alternating layers of ice and dust are clearly seen, a defining characteristic of the seasonal martian ice caps. Hundreds of tightly packed dark fan-shaped features are visible, tracing out the boundaries between the layered deposits. These features result from jets of gas laden with dust bursting through the icy surface from below, the dust settling in an orientation indicative of the direction of the prevailing wind.
The image was generated from the digital terrain model, from which the topography of the landscape can be derived, and the nadir and colour channels of the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express.
[Image description: Perspective view across undulating terrain with exposed layers of ice and dust. Numerous dark dusty fan-shaped features follow the pattern of the layers.]
