Layers of ice and dust
Layers of ice and dust
The polar landscape of Australe Scopuli, located between 83 and 86 degrees south, features alternating layers of light-coloured carbon dioxide and water ice interspersed with dark sands and dust. This image was captured at the end of the austral winter. As sunlight returns after the polar night and begins to warm the ice and the surfaces it covers, fountains of carbon dioxide gas break through the upper ice crust in many places, carrying dust to the surface. This dust is then deposited on the ice. Soon, only the permanent South Pole ice cap – located further south and spanning a diameter of 400 kilometres – will remain. The width of the image in the perspective view is approximately 25 kilometres at its centre.