Image resolution up to 50 kilometers per pixel.
Space telescope Hubble took a picture of Mars with a closest distance at which the camera was able to approach the planet. It is reported by NASA.
The image was acquired may 12, when Mars was at a distance of 80 million miles from Earth. Image resolution up to 50 kilometers per pixel. It is possible to see the polar caps and clouds of the red planet.
In the picture you can see the Great plateau of Sirte, which is a shield volcano. To the South is oval Hellas planitia. In diameter it reaches 1770 kilometers. Most likely, it was formed 3.5 billion years ago as a result of the fall of a large asteroid.
The orange area in the center of the image represents an Arab land (upland in the Northern part of Mars, in diameter reaches 4.5 thousand kilometers). This area is one of the oldest on the planet and is covered with many channels and craters.
Shown on NASA hemisphere worked several missions, including Viking 1 (1976), Mars Pathfinder (1997) and continues to operate the Rover Opportunity. The landing of the Rovers Spirit and Curiosity are on the opposite hemisphere. At a minimum for the last ten years the distance from Earth to the Mars will be on may 22. On this day the Earth will be positioned exactly on the straight line between the red planet and the Sun.
