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.
An ice cap-puccino
Today in History
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Racing toward history
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Yarn for Distaff Day
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World Penguin Day
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It s Republic Day in India
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The roots of invention
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Florentine garden brings generations together
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Let s get lost
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Full moon
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Dolomites
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Iceberg off the coast of Antarctica
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Celebrating Take Your Dog to Work Day
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Walking among the giants
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World Laughter Day—it s a hoot
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Super sandy Sweet 16
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Birch trees, Drammen, Norway
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International Rock Day
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Cheese! We ll go somewhere where there s cheese!
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An underwater rainbow
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Looking for peace on the precipice
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A whale of a picture
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The Cordillera de la Sal in the Cordillera Domeyko Range of Chile
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Spotted Lake emerges
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Splügen Pass, Switzerland
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Step into the dark
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Listening to the sea
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Ski touring in Austria
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Hawaii Volcanoes National Park turns 103
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State funeral of Queen Elizabeth II
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Dashing through the snow
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Oktoberfest begins