While Santa prepares Christmas on Earth at the North Pole of the earth, angels get into the holiday spirit South Pole of Mars. A spaceship has seen an “angel figure” and a huge heart at the south pole of Martian, just a week before Christmas.
This week, the European Space Agency’s Mars Express High-Resolution Stereo Camera captured the “marked wings of an angel figure, full of hello,” as well as a large heart next to it. The pair of festive silhouettes feature bright red, completely different from the light tan color of the Martian sand around them.
Björn Schreiner 2020 @ FU Berlin
According to the space agency, the dark color is due to the composition of the sand dunes, which are made up of minerals also found on Earth, such as pyroxene and olivine.
The south pole itself, which is currently in summer, is located to the right of the ethereal view, just out of frame. During the Martian winter, the area would be covered in ice cakes of a mile thick and 250 miles wide – but, for now, ice stores are at their lowest annual levels.
Officials said the angel’s hand may be a large sublimation pit, which appears to be reaching to the left – a depression in the planet’s surface that forms as ice turns to gas. in the summer.
Björn Schreiner 2020 @ FU Berlin
The angel’s head and halo were apparently created when a celestial object entered the planet, revealing underground layers that give us a glimpse into the long history of Mars. The heart is the result of a line of cliffs formed as a result of erosion.
The beautiful landscape also features a Martian dust demon to the left of the image. A dust demon, which is common on the red planet, forms as strong winds wake dust from the surface.
The south pole of Mars has been under scrutiny for a few months after scientists discovered it three new underground lakes – and much more potential – demonstrates potential for microbial life.