Photos show huge Mars dust storms
Barren, alien, yet strangely beautiful, this is the planet Mars as it has never been seen before from the Earth.
The new image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope is the best ever obtained by an Earth-based observatory.
They reveal that while it may be a hostile, arid, lifeless world, Mars is far from inactive.
Swirling dust storms can be seen raging across a cratered, rusty landscape while high in the thin atmosphere, sweeping frosty white ice clouds look as if they have been painted by an artist’s hand.
The photograph was taken on June 26, when Mars was about 43 million miles from Earth - the nearest it has been since 1988.
In the picture, details as small as 10 miles across can be seen. The colours are genuine, showing what Mars would really look like this close up.
Especially striking is the seasonal storm activity seen in the image.
One large storm system is churning high above the northern polar cap at the top of the picture, and a smaller dust storm cloud can be seen nearby.
Another large dust storm is spilling out of the giant Hellas impact basin in the southern hemisphere (lower right).
In 2003 Mars and the Earth will be a mere 35 million miles apart, the shortest distance between the two planets since 1924.
