Talk about a sweet patch of ice, eh?

The NHL just released its 2005-06 season schedule, including the busiest opening night in league history. So busy, in fact, one wonders where they're going to find enough ice to play all those games on. Well, wonder no more--the European Space Agency has come through with this gorgeous, virgin rink:



Granted, it's not regulation, and the commute will be a bear, but I think the natural scenic beauty more than makes up for it.

The HRSC on ESA's Mars Express obtained this perspective view on 2 February 2005 during orbit 1343 with a ground resolution of approximately 15 metres per pixel.

It shows an unnamed impact crater located on Vastitas Borealis, a broad plain that covers much of Mars's far northern latitudes, at approximately 70.5° North and 103° East.

The crater is 35 kilometres wide and has a maximum depth of approximately 2 kilometres beneath the crater rim. The circular patch of bright material located at the centre of the crater is residual water ice.

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