Planet Mars: December 2024 | Hubble Space Telescope

Planet Mars: December 2024 | Hubble Space Telescope

Two views of planet Mars by the Hubble Space Telescope. In the top image, the bright orange Tharsis plateau is visible with its chain of dormant volcanoes. The largest volcano, Olympus Mons, pokes above the clouds at the 10 o’clock position near the northwest limb. At an elevation of over 21 000 meters, it is 2.5 times the height of Mt. Everest above sea level. Valles Marineris, Mars’ over 4,000-kilometre-long canyon system, is a dark, linear, horizontal feature near center left. 

In the bottom image, high-altitude evening clouds can be seen along the planet’s eastern limb. The 2,250-kilometre-wide Hellas basin, an ancient asteroid impact feature, appears far to the south. Most of the hemisphere is dominated by the classical “shark fin” feature, Syrtis Major.

Two views of planet Mars by the Hubble Space Telescope. In the left image, the bright orange Tharsis plateau is visible with its chain of dormant volcanoes. The largest volcano, Olympus Mons, pokes above the clouds at the 10 o’clock position near the northwest limb. At an elevation of 21,000 meters, it is 2.5 times the height of Mt. Everest above sea level. Valles Marineris, Mars’ roughly 4,000 kilometer-long canyon system, is a dark, linear, horizontal feature near center left. 

In the right image, high-altitude evening clouds can be seen along the planet’s eastern limb. The 2,250-kilometer-wide Hellas basin, an ancient asteroid impact feature, appears far to the south. Most of the hemisphere is dominated by the classical “shark fin” feature, Syrtis Major.

This is a combination of Hubble Space Telescope images of Mars taken from December 28th to 30th, 2024. At the midpoint of the observations, Mars was approximately 98 million kilometers from Earth. Thin water-ice clouds that are apparent in ultraviolet light give the Red Planet a frosty appearance. The icy northern polar cap was experiencing the start of Martian spring. 

Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI
Release Date: April 23, 2025

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