Nasa have confirmed that the Phoenix lander has dicovered the existence of water ice in the trenches dug on Mars.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoen ... 80620.html

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Coronado PST with SME-40 double stack H@ filter

Confirmation is good. We like that!

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200mm Newtonian, OMC140, ETX90, 15x70 Binoculars.

I probably should have posted my post in this category but doesn't everything fall under "General Chat"! It's related to the ice on Mars.

http://www.popastro.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9828

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My 8" f/6 Homemade Oak Dobsonian Telescope (aka. "Cheeks")
PimpYourScope.com - A resource for astronomers of any magnitude.

Dear Yn0t
I think the NASA\pheonix images arereally superb.
However, I have been happy to accept that the white stuff we have been observing (for several centuries now) on Mars and in particular its polar caps, which change with the seasons are water ice or carbon dioxide, or a mixture of the two. So Nasa's conclusions that the white stuff in the Pheonix images are no great surprise in a way. However, is there still a possibility that the Pheonix pic white material is or perhaps rather was a mixture of both water ice and carbon dioxide ?
Best wishes from Cliff

Hum,
there is a scheduled press conference today at 2 p.m. Eastern Time by NASA and the University of Arizona.

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