What did Mars South Polar Cap look like 2 years ago... 22 years ago?
Here are side-by-side comparisons of TES data from 1997 and Viking IRTM from
1977, taken for approximately the current season on Mars. A comparison of past data with
current TES data shows a polar cap receding in much the same manner year after year.
_T20(!Uo!NC).gif)
_T20(!Uo!NC).gif)
Day_Temp(!Uo!NC).gif)
The left image is a 20 um image of the south pole reconstructed
from Viking 2 IRTM data (Jan 1977).
The arrows point in the direction of midnight.
The next image is TES data taken November
20-21, 1997, at about the same season.
The last image is current TES bolometric data from Oct 1-3,1999.
_Albedo(L).gif)
_Albedo(L).gif)
Day_Albedo(L).gif)
The left image is the albedo of the south pole reconstructed
from Viking 2 IRTM data (Jan 1977).
The arrows point in the direction of midnight.
The next image is TES data taken November
20-21, 1997, at about the same season. The last image is the cap's recent Albedo data.
All three Martians years show the Cryptic Region in aproximately the same location.
Questions should be addressed to Tim Titus
or Jeff Johnson.
This page last updated 14 October, 1999.
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