Mars Orbiter Resumes Duty

New Stunning Pictures from Mars

Dunes of sand-sized materials have been trapped on the floors of many Martian craters. This view shows dunes inside a crater in Noachis Terra, west of the giant Hellas impact basin in Mars' southern hemisphere.
Dunes of sand-sized materials have been trapped on the floors of many Martian craters. This is one example, from a crater in Noachis Terra, west of the giant Hellas impact basin.
© NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Dunes of sand-sized materials have been trapped on the floors of many Martian craters. This is one example, from a crater in Noachis Terra, west of the giant Hellas impact basin.

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this view on Dec. 28, 2009. The orbiter resumed making observations in mid-December following a three-month hiatus.

The dunes here are linear, thought to be due to shifting wind directions. In places, each dune is remarkably similar to adjacent dunes, including a reddish (or dust-colored) band on northeast-facing slopes. Large angular boulders litter the floor between dunes.

The most extensive linear dune fields known in the solar system are on Saturn's large moon Titan. Titan has a very different environment and composition, so at meter-scale resolution they probably are very different from Martian dunes.

Source: NASA/JPL
Pictures of the article

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This image shows a very fresh-looking impact crater with extensive radial ejecta. The crater was first seen in an image acquired with MRO's Context Camera (CTX). The best image of this region prior to CTX was from one of the Viking Orbiters, and the crater isn't apparent in that image. This could mean that the crater formed sometime between 1976 and 1999, or there may have been more dust on the surface in 1976 or the air may have been hazy, obscuring the crater.
The floor of Hellas Basin is often obscured by atmospheric haze and dust, but it tends to be quite clear this time of year (northern spring and southern fall).
Dunes are often found on crater floors. In the winter time at high northern latitudes the terrain is covered by carbon dioxide ice (dry ice). In the spring as this seasonal ice evaporates many unusual features unique to Mars are visible.
New Pictures from Mars

Dunes of sand-sized materials have been trapped on the floors of many Martian craters. This view shows dunes inside a crater in Noachis Terra, west of the giant Hellas impact basin in Mars' southern hemisphere.

Mars Orbiter Resumes Duty - New Stunning Pictures from Mars | Redshift live

Mars Orbiter Resumes Duty

New Stunning Pictures from Mars

Dunes of sand-sized materials have been trapped on the floors of many Martian craters. This view shows dunes inside a crater in Noachis Terra, west of the giant Hellas impact basin in Mars' southern hemisphere.
Dunes of sand-sized materials have been trapped on the floors of many Martian craters. This is one example, from a crater in Noachis Terra, west of the giant Hellas impact basin.
© NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Dunes of sand-sized materials have been trapped on the floors of many Martian craters. This is one example, from a crater in Noachis Terra, west of the giant Hellas impact basin.

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this view on Dec. 28, 2009. The orbiter resumed making observations in mid-December following a three-month hiatus.

The dunes here are linear, thought to be due to shifting wind directions. In places, each dune is remarkably similar to adjacent dunes, including a reddish (or dust-colored) band on northeast-facing slopes. Large angular boulders litter the floor between dunes.

The most extensive linear dune fields known in the solar system are on Saturn's large moon Titan. Titan has a very different environment and composition, so at meter-scale resolution they probably are very different from Martian dunes.

Source: NASA/JPL
Pictures of the article

» show all pictures

This image shows a very fresh-looking impact crater with extensive radial ejecta. The crater was first seen in an image acquired with MRO's Context Camera (CTX). The best image of this region prior to CTX was from one of the Viking Orbiters, and the crater isn't apparent in that image. This could mean that the crater formed sometime between 1976 and 1999, or there may have been more dust on the surface in 1976 or the air may have been hazy, obscuring the crater.
The floor of Hellas Basin is often obscured by atmospheric haze and dust, but it tends to be quite clear this time of year (northern spring and southern fall).
Dunes are often found on crater floors. In the winter time at high northern latitudes the terrain is covered by carbon dioxide ice (dry ice). In the spring as this seasonal ice evaporates many unusual features unique to Mars are visible.
New Pictures from Mars

Dunes of sand-sized materials have been trapped on the floors of many Martian craters. This view shows dunes inside a crater in Noachis Terra, west of the giant Hellas impact basin in Mars' southern hemisphere.

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Mars Orbiter Resumes Duty

New Stunning Pictures from Mars

Dunes of sand-sized materials have been trapped on the floors of many Martian craters. This view shows dunes inside a crater in Noachis Terra, west of the giant Hellas impact basin in Mars' southern hemisphere.
Dunes of sand-sized materials have been trapped on the floors of many Martian craters. This is one example, from a crater in Noachis Terra, west of the giant Hellas impact basin.
© NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Dunes of sand-sized materials have been trapped on the floors of many Martian craters. This is one example, from a crater in Noachis Terra, west of the giant Hellas impact basin.

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this view on Dec. 28, 2009. The orbiter resumed making observations in mid-December following a three-month hiatus.

The dunes here are linear, thought to be due to shifting wind directions. In places, each dune is remarkably similar to adjacent dunes, including a reddish (or dust-colored) band on northeast-facing slopes. Large angular boulders litter the floor between dunes.

The most extensive linear dune fields known in the solar system are on Saturn's large moon Titan. Titan has a very different environment and composition, so at meter-scale resolution they probably are very different from Martian dunes.

Source: NASA/JPL
Pictures of the article

» show all pictures

This image shows a very fresh-looking impact crater with extensive radial ejecta. The crater was first seen in an image acquired with MRO's Context Camera (CTX). The best image of this region prior to CTX was from one of the Viking Orbiters, and the crater isn't apparent in that image. This could mean that the crater formed sometime between 1976 and 1999, or there may have been more dust on the surface in 1976 or the air may have been hazy, obscuring the crater.
The floor of Hellas Basin is often obscured by atmospheric haze and dust, but it tends to be quite clear this time of year (northern spring and southern fall).
Dunes are often found on crater floors. In the winter time at high northern latitudes the terrain is covered by carbon dioxide ice (dry ice). In the spring as this seasonal ice evaporates many unusual features unique to Mars are visible.
New Pictures from Mars

Dunes of sand-sized materials have been trapped on the floors of many Martian craters. This view shows dunes inside a crater in Noachis Terra, west of the giant Hellas impact basin in Mars' southern hemisphere.

» print article

Search
Astronomy Software

Solar Eclipse by Redshift

Solar Eclipse by Redshift for iOS

Observe, understand, and marvel at the solar eclipse on August 21, 2017! » more

Solar Eclipse by Redshift

Solar Eclipse by Redshift for Android

Observe, understand, and marvel at the solar eclipse on August 21, 2017! » more