POLAR ACTIVITY ON MARS: Amateur astronomers monitoring Mars have noticed a sudden change in the appearance of the planet's arctic regions. "Over the weekend a dust stream appeared," reports Pete Lawrence of Selsey, UK, "and it is cutting across Mars' north polar cap." He photographed the activity using a 14-inch Celestron:

Polar dust storms are common at this time of year on Mars. It is springtime in the Martian north. Temperature differences between polar ice and darker regions to the south, which are heated by the springtime sun, stir up winds and streamers of rusty-red dust. In years past, the Hubble Space Telescope has observed dramatic dust storms at the edge of the northern polar cap--and now amateurs are seeing them, too. Train your optics here.

more images: from Günther Strauch of Borken, NRW; Germany; from Juan Miguel González Polo of Cáceres, Spain; from Glenn Jolly of Gilbert, Arizona;
---
Günther Strauch
Image taken:
Feb. 1, 2010
Location:
Borken, NRW; Germany


Details:
Are there some sand cloudes over Mars white north pole? I create the pictures with a CCD color camera with a resolution of 640 x 480 pixel. Telescope: Meade SC 16". Focal distance 12 meters. Kind regards Günther