An ice cap-puccino Aug 13, 2019

An ice cap-puccino

No, that"s not a new frozen coffee drink from Starbucks; it"s the southern polar ice cap on Mars. Mars is the only other planet in the solar system with visible ice caps, though they differ from Earth’s because the ice caps on Mars consist of both water ice and frozen carbon dioxide. The ice cap looks smooth here, but its surface is pockmarked with swiss-cheese-like depressions caused by the seasonal freezing and melting of the Martian winters and summers. While Mars has been observed by humanity for thousands of years, it was only on August 13, 1672, that Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens observed the ice cap using the most powerful telescope of the day. The giant of science designed the 50x magnification telescope himself, and with his brother, produced the lenses as well.

© ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/Bill Dunford

palette

Today in History

Aug 13, 2018Look to the north sky tonight for the Perseids
Aug 13, 2020Life in the slow lane
Aug 13, 2021Fight for your lefts
Aug 13, 2022Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
Aug 13, 2023Perseid meteor shower over Oregon
Aug 13, 2024Telašćica Nature Park, Dugi Otok, Croatia
Aug 13, 2025Corona Arch near Moab, Utah

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Aug 4, 2018‘Fringe’ takes center stage as Edinburgh celebrates the arts
Feb 4, 2025Golden Bridge, Bà Nà Hills, Da Nang, Vietnam
Oct 24, 2025Night view of the RMS Queen Mary, Long Beach, California
Nov 5, 2023Playa del Silencio, Spain
Jul 20, 2024International Moon Day
Sep 22, 2022First day of autumn
Jul 6, 2019Racers pushing past sunflowers in the 2018 Tour de France
Aug 9, 2024International Day of the Worlds Indigenous Peoples
Sep 9, 2021Islands of the Salish Sea
Mar 22, 2019Fresh water on the Silk Road
Dec 15, 2018A long winter’s nap, perhaps?
Sep 26, 2025Least chipmunk, Kootenai National Forest, Montana
Aug 21, 2025A wheatear in Peak District National Park, England
Apr 20, 2021Terraced fields of green
May 31, 2020Welcome to the pack
Apr 18, 2023International Day for Monuments and Sites
Aug 16, 2019Shining like Klondike gold
Oct 21, 2023International Archaeology Day
Nov 4, 2019Stepping stones in Tollymore Forest Park, Northern Ireland
Jan 10, 2019‘You should see the one that got away!’
Dec 28, 2025Anniversary of the Endangered Species Act of 1973
Jul 24, 2019Can you see the family resemblance?
Oct 25, 2025Martimoaapa Mire Reserve, Finland
Jan 25, 2024Ruins of St. Dwynwens Church, Ynys Llanddwyn, Wales
Nov 1, 2023Native American Heritage Month
May 26, 2020It s tree-climbing season
Dec 9, 2018There’s treasure in them thar hills
Aug 9, 2022International Day of the World s Indigenous Peoples
Jan 5, 2020Digging the birds
Aug 11, 2020Sea fireflies at the seashore