Starship Asterisk*

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040309.html

The ultra deep field. I find myself returning to look at this saved image often. To quote a Vulcan, space is really big.

If this is an upwelling over a larger, buried pool, then the dark area at 11:00 might be a peak sticking up through, possibly a "martian island". The most significant dust accumulation seems to be to the left (North?) of this spot, possibly indicating something about wind patterns around t...

I wondered about the dust issue as well. It seems like there are some patches of dust along the edges, and most significant in the upper left. It looks to me like the ice field has some pretty sharp edges (cliffs?) That would seem to argue against recent upwelling. Is it possible we are seeing a lay...