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What it is : geyser of gas and dust onMars

Where it is : The south polar region of Mars

An aerial photo showing gray and black clouds of dust over the surface of Mars

Geysers of gas and dust on Mars, as seen by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

When it was share : Jan. 29 , 2025

Why it ’s so particular : These left over , fan - similar lineament on the airfoil of Mars are geysers of natural gas and debris near the planet ’s south pole that are visible only in springtime on the Red Planet . This icon was adopt by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter ( MRO ) in 2018 and wasreshared by NASArecently .

During winter on Mars , carbon dioxide ice accumulates near the surface . allot toNASA , carbon dioxide ice is pellucid , and sunlight that gets through it is absorb at the base of the icy layer . Asthe sunrises higher into the sky and spring Menachem Begin , carbon dioxide ice begins to warm and turn to vapor . That vapour then run through weaknesses in the trash and erupt in the form of geysers . These eruptions sometimes leave dusty , jagged streaks , nicknamed " spider on Mars . "

Still frame of mars clouds captured from NASA rover showing iridescent colors and white plumes.

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Mars has four season similar to those on Earth . That ’s because Mars ' celestial orbit spins on an axis careen by 25.2 degrees ( similar to Earth ’s 23.5 degree ) , meaning different parts of Mars get differ amounts of sun as the planet revolve the sun . However , because Mars takes 687 Earth days to orbit the Lord’s Day , the season last around twice as long as they do on our planet .

There ’s something else about Mars ' orbit that pee the season unlike . Because the planet ’s arena of the sunlight is somewhat egg-shaped , there ’s a significant difference between Mars ' closest and furthermost point to the Dominicus .

A photograph taken from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which shows wave-like patterns inside a Mars crater.

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a photograph of Mars rising behind the moon

According to theEuropean Space Agency , Mars is closest to the sun during summer in its southerly cerebral hemisphere , making that season shorter and hot than summer in the North . Conversely , winter in the southerly hemisphere happens when Mars travels at its slowest and farthest from the sun , spend a penny it longer and cold than wintertime in the North .

This stunning image number from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on the MRO , which launch on Aug. 12 , 2005 , and lead off orbiting Mars on March 12 , 2006 .

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An aerial photo showing a dozen large, star-shaped sand dunes in the Sahara desert

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An image of red swirling dust and sparkling stars in outer space

An image of the Milky Way captured by the MeerKAT radio telescope. At the center of the MeerKAT image the region surrounding the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole blazes bright. Huge vertical filamentary structures echo those captured on a smaller scale by Webb in Sagittarius C’s blue-green hydrogen cloud.

an illustration of Mars

an aerial view of a rock on Mars

A new study has revealed that lichens can withstand the intense ionizing radiation that hits Mars� surface. (The lichen in this photo is Cetraria aculeata.)

NASA�s Curiosity rover took this selfie while inside Mars� Gale crater on June 15, 2018, which was the 2,082nd Martian day, or sol, of the rover�s mission.

An artist�s illustration of Mars�s Gale Crater beginning to catch the morning light.

an illustration of a base on the moon

An aerial photo of mountains rising out of Antarctica snowy and icy landscape, as seen from NASA�s Operation IceBridge research aircraft.

A tree is silhouetted against the full completed Annular Solar Eclipse on October 14, 2023 in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah.

Screen-capture of a home security camera facing a front porch during an earthquake.

Circular alignment of stones in the center of an image full of stones

Three-dimensional rendering of an HIV virus