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1995 photo of Mars showing approximate size of the polar caps. The planet Mars has two permanent polar ice caps of water ice and some dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide, CO 2).Above kilometer-thick layers of water ice permafrost, slabs of dry ice are deposited during a pole's winter, [1] [2] lying in continuous darkness, causing 25–30% of the atmosphere being deposited annually at either of the ...
Planum Australe (Latin: "the southern plain") is the southern polar plain on Mars.It extends southward of roughly 75°S and is centered at The geology of this region was to be explored by the failed NASA mission Mars Polar Lander, which lost contact on entry into the Martian atmosphere.
The South Pole is at an altitude of 9,200 feet (2,800 m) but feels like 11,000 feet (3,400 m). [34] Centripetal force from the spin of the planet throws the atmosphere toward the equator. The South Pole is colder than the North Pole primarily because of the elevation difference and for being in the middle of a continent. [35]
Areography, also known as the geography of Mars, is a subfield of planetary science that entails the delineation and characterization of regions on Mars. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Areography is mainly focused on what is called physical geography on Earth; that is the distribution of physical features across Mars and their cartographic representations.
The maps below were produced by the Mars Global Surveyor ' s Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter; redder colors indicate higher elevations.The maps of the equatorial quadrangles use a Mercator projection, while those of the mid-latitude quadrangles use a Lambert conformal conic projection, and the maps of the polar quadrangles use a polar stereographic projection.
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun.The surface of Mars is orange-red because it is covered in iron(III) oxide dust, giving it the nickname "the Red Planet". [22] [23] Mars is among the brightest objects in Earth's sky, and its high-contrast albedo features have made it a common subject for telescope viewing.
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This is a list of plains on Mars. Such features are named after the nearest classical albedo feature in compliance with the International Astronomical Union 's rules of planetary nomenclature . Plains may be named denoted " planitia " or "planum", depending on height.