The white penitents*

These bizarre snow and ice formations, called "penitentes", form in high-altitude regions such as the Chajnantor plain, close to where the ALMA array will be located.

These are ice blades produced by the competition between sublimation and melting of the snow. At Chajnantor at the summer solstice, the Sun is close to the zenith at noon, and penitents are vertical. This image was taken in December 2005.

This image is available as a mounted image in the ESOshop

Credit:

ESO

About the Image

Id:img-1513
Type:Photographic
Release date:3 December 2009, 23:18
Size:4368 x 2912 px

About the Object

Name:Atacama Desert
Type:Solar System : Planet : Type : Terrestrial
Category:ALMA

Mounted Image

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