The Two Faces of Mars
These two images, taken 11 hours apart with NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, reveal two nearly opposite sides of Mars. Hubble snapped these photos as the red planet was making its closest approach to Earth in almost 60,000 years. Mars completed nearly one half a rotation between the two observations.
The image at left was assembled from a series of exposures taken between 6:20 p.m. and 7:12 p.m. EDT Aug. 26 with Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. Hubble snapped this photo when Mars and Earth were 34,648,840 miles (55,760,220 km) apart.
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Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
|---|---|---|
| Optical B | 410 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |
| Optical V | 502 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |
| Optical R | 631 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |