Planet Mars: What is this? | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
What are we looking at here? There are long linear ridges or elevated terrains covered by regular patterns of dark spots. Viewed at full resolution and in color we can see that the surface is covered by ripples and that a number of dark spots have bright halos around them.
Give up? These are sand dunes covered by carbon dioxide frost as seen in late winter when the carbon dioxide is starting to sublimate (change from solid to vapor). However, the way this sublimation happens is quite complex, leading to the spots, fans, streaks and so forth
Image Acquisition date: Sept. 8, 2012
Local Mars time: 15:56
Latitude (centered): -61.730°
Longitude (East): 205.008°
The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE. It was built by BAE Systems in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
Caption Credit: Alfred McEwen
Release Date: Oct. 10, 2012
#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #Geology #Landscape #Terrain #Geoscience #SandDunes #CO2Sublimation #CarbonDioxideFrost #MRO #MarsOrbiter #MarsSpacecraft #HiRISECamera #JPL #Caltech #BallAerospace #MSSS #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video
No comments:
Post a Comment