A new image from the HIRISE camera shows that the polygons are in bloom.
The image was taken on March 30, 2022, and shows a patchwork of zig-zags cracking across the Martian soil at high latitudes. Researchers at the University of Arizona wrote in a statement on Monday that the zig-zags and colorful sprays are a signature feature of Martian spring.
Water and dry ice are important for sculpting Mars' surface at high latitudes. There is water ice in the soil.
In the springtime, surface ice transforms from a solid into a gas and cracks the edges of the polygons. There are dark, fan-shaped deposits of particles on the ground when the dry ice on the Martian surface is sprayed out. There are bright marks on the ground where dark particles sink into the dry ice.
Depending on the wind, a single ice vent can open and close many times. There are different light and dark streaks jutting out of a single vent. The fans and polygons can stay around for a long time as ice expands and contracts.
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has a camera on it. Over the past few decades, the orbiter has captured a lot of strange and amusing images. There is a formation of rocks and craters that are similar to the one in the movie "Muppets Beaker".
The largest canyon in our solar system is also the largest canyon in the universe. Scientists don't know how the canyon formed on Mars, it spans nearly 10 times as long as Earth's Grand Canyon. They are keeping the truth to themselves.
It was originally published on Live Science
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