Astronomy Picture of the Day . A Near Record Ozone Hole in 2003 . ... Credit: SVS , TOMS , NASA Explanation: As expected, the ozone hole near Earth's South Pole is back again this year. This year's hole, being slightly larger than North America , is larger than last year but short of the record set on 2000 September 10. ... The above picture of the ozone hole was taken on September 11 by TOMS on board the orbiting Earth Probe satellite. ... Publications with keywords: ozone hole . ...