Credit & Copyright: Ron Miller (ASU)
Explanation:
What's causing seasonal
dark spots on Mars?
Every spring, strange
dark spots appear near the Martian poles,
and then vanish a few months later.
These spots typically span 50 meters across and appear
fan shaped.
Recent observations made with
THEMIS instrument onboard NASA's
Mars Odyssey, currently orbiting
Marscarbon dioxide
(CO2) ice beneath them.
Based on this evidence, a
new hypothesis has been suggested where the spots are caused by
explosive jets of sand-laden CO2.
As a pole warms up in the spring,
frozen CO2
on the surface thins, perforates, and begins to vent gaseous CO2 held underneath.
Within this hypothesis,
interspersed dark sand would explain the color of the spots,
while the underlying frozen CO2 would explain the coolness of the spots.
Pictured above,
an artist depicts what it might be like to stand on Mars and witness the
venting of these tremendous gas and dust jets.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
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