Astronomy
Astronomy
Posted on Feb 1, 2026
APOD: 2026 February 1 – Galle: Happy Face Crater on Mars
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Good morning, Rallypoint, and welcome to the February 1, 2026 edition of Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD).
First featured here in 1999, this image of Crater Galle (aka the Happy Face Crater) was captured by NASA's Martian Global Surveyor (MGS). Viking 1 took this first photographs in 1976. And it does resemble the smiling/winking emoji used online in lighter moments.
This impact formation is named after Johann Gottfried Galle, a German astronomer who first observed the planet Neptune on September 23, 1846. How big is Crater Galle? Over 140 miles in diameter.
First featured here in 1999, this image of Crater Galle (aka the Happy Face Crater) was captured by NASA's Martian Global Surveyor (MGS). Viking 1 took this first photographs in 1976. And it does resemble the smiling/winking emoji used online in lighter moments.
This impact formation is named after Johann Gottfried Galle, a German astronomer who first observed the planet Neptune on September 23, 1846. How big is Crater Galle? Over 140 miles in diameter.
APOD: 2026 February 1 – Galle: Happy Face Crater on Mars
Posted from apod.nasa.gov
Space
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Astronomy
Edited 11 d ago
Posted 11 d ago
Responses: 7
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Maj William W. 'Bill' Price
Maj Robert Thornton This may be the best we can do for now...
https://kilroyonmars.com/116/introduction/198/hiding-in-plain-sight
https://kilroyonmars.com/116/introduction/198/hiding-in-plain-sight
Hiding in Plain Sight - KilroyOnMars.com
Take a moment to examine the photograph above. What do you see? Take your time, be patient and focus on what's leaning against the big rock just left of center. For scale, the boulder above is roughly one meter in diameter. Take a moment to examine the photograph above. What do you see? Take you...
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Maj Robert Thornton
I asked and you found it [g~419721:Maj William W. 'Bill' Price]. That is pretty amazing.
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Maj William W. 'Bill' Price
SSgt (Join to see) Like this? (Olympus Mons, as seen from the European Space Agency's Mars Express)
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SSgt (Join to see)
Yeah like that. Lava flows are crazy and hard to imagine. Yellowstone has a pretty large on.
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