MARS



Images on this page were obtained in February-March, 1995, by Johan Warell and Uri Carsenty (DLR/Berlin) with the 0.5-m Solar Telescope of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on La Palma, Canary Islands. Imaging filters were provided by the DLR and are identical to those which were to be carried on the High Resolution Stereoscopic Camera of the Mars '96 mission. From the images, the structure of the north polar ice deposits has been studied for Ls=63 degrees during the 1995 aphelic opposition.


Logfile for images reproduced on this page

February 21, 1995


February 22, 1995

Meridiani Sinus hemisphere, Feb 22 1995, 2106 UT, HRSC G filter.

Clouds above the northern polar cap (NPC) create the uneven brightness of the bright polar cap/hood. Sabaeus Sinus and Meridiani Sinus compose the dark fork shaped feature above disk center while Syrtis Major is setting at the evening limb (left).

Meridiani Sinus hemisphere, Feb 22 1995, 2136 UT, HRSC R,G,B filters.

This color image is a composite of three CCD images taken through red, green and blue filters. After processing, each image was navigated and remapped to a rectilinear projection at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The remapped images were then stacked with proper color contrasts and transformed back to spherical mode.

Blue evening and morning haze girdle the planet. Note that north is up in this image.


February 23, 1995



Mare Acidalium hemisphere, Feb 24 1995, 0124 UT, HRSC G filter.

Note bright Argyre on northern limb (fog?), morning and evening hazes and northern polar clouds off the cap. The dark albedo feature below center is Mare Acidalium, on the southern hemisphere is large and dark Mare Erythraeum bordered by the dark patches of Meridiani Sinus on the evening limb and Solis Lacus on the morning limb.

Syrtis Major hemisphere, Feb 25 1995, 2018 UT, HRSC R filter.

The light depression of Hellas is at the top, Syrtis Major below. Meridiani Sinus and Mare Acidalium are rising on the morning limb.

Syrtis Major hemisphere, Mar 3 1995, 2148 UT, Bessel V filter.

On the evening limb, a bright orographic cloud has formed over the Elysium volcanoes.

Remapped Syrtis Major hemisphere

Under guidance of Sanjay Limaye, navigation and remapping was performed at the Space Science & Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison. This rectilinear projection maps the original Feb 24 image above at 0.2 degrees per pixel in latitude and longitude with the equator centered. Limb darkening has been removed using the Minnaert law of solid surface scattering.

Remapped Mare Acidalium hemisphere

A rectinilear projection of the Feb 25 image above.


Related links

Life on Mars?

Space Craft/Missions to Mars

Amateur-Professional Mars Research


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