Hubble's Sharpest View of Mars: ACS Image
This view of Mars from the Hubble Space Telescope's new Advanced Camera for Surveys provides the sharpest view of the red planet attainable by the Earth-oribiting observatory. The picture was taken August 24, when Mars was approximately 34.7 million miles from Earth.
The central linear feature running from left to right is Valles Marineris, a 2,480-mile (4,000-km) system of canyons. Sunlight illuminates one wall of the canyon, creating a striking white linear feature. To the bottom left lies Solis Lacus (Lake of the Sun) At far left is the great Tharsis plateau. A chain of three dormant volcanoes can barely be seen along the left limb.
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