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Giant Landslide on Iapetus
| Description |
Giant Landslide on Iapetus |
| Full Description |
A spectacular landslide within the low-brightness region of Iapetus's surface known as Cassini Regio is visible in this image from Cassini. Iapetus is one of the moons of Saturn. The landslide material appears to have collapsed from a scarp 15 kilometers high (9 miles) that forms the rim of an ancient 600 kilometer (375 mile) impact basin. Unconsolidated rubble from the landslide extends halfway across a conspicuous, 120-kilometer diameter (75-mile) flat-floored impact crater that lies just inside the basin scarp. Landslides are common geological phenomena on many planetary bodies, including Earth and Mars. The appearance of this landslide on an icy satellite with low-brightness cratered terrain is reminiscent of landslide features that were observed during NASA's Galileo mission on the Jovian satellite Callisto. The fact that the Iapetus landslide traveled many kilometers from the basin scarp could indicate that the surface material is very fine-grained, and perhaps was fluffed by mechanical forces that allowed the landslide debris to flow extended distances. In this view, north is to the left of the picture and solar illumination is from the bottom of the frame. The image was obtained in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Dec. 31, 2004, at a distance of about 123,400 kilometers (76,677 miles) from Iapetus and at a Sun-Iapetus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 78 degrees. Resolution achieved in the original image was 740 meters (2,428 feet) per pixel. The image has been contrast-enhanced and magnified by a factor of two to aid visibility. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . For images visit the Cassini imaging team home page http://ciclops.org . Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
| Date |
January 7, 2005 |
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A Bird's-Eye View of Erebus
| title |
A Bird's-Eye View of Erebus |
| date |
11.23.2005 |
| description |
This false-color view combines frames taken by the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on the rover's 652 through 663 Martian days, or sols (Nov. 23 to Dec. 5, 2005), at the edge of Erebus Crater. The mosaic is presented as a vertical projection. This type of projection provides a true-to-scale overhead view of the rover deck and nearby surrounding terrain. The view here shows outcrop rocks, sand dunes, and other features out to a distance of about 25 meters (82 feet) from the rover. Opportunity examined targets on the outcrop called "Rimrock" in front of the rover, testing the mobility and operation of Opportunity's robotic arm. The view shows examples of the dunes and ripples that Opportunity has been crossing as the rover drives on the Meridiani plains. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell |
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New Gullies on Martian Sand
…
| title |
New Gullies on Martian Sand Dune |
| description |
As part of extended-mission science investigation using the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, the camera team is re-imaging many locations where previous observations revealed gullies. The intent is to see if gully-forming processes are operating on Mars at the present time. The team has found one location where a new gully formed on a dune in an unnamed crater in the Hellespontus region of Mars, west of the Hellas Basin. This pair of narrow-angle images from the Mars Orbiter Camera shows the dune as it appeared on July 17, 2002, (left) and as it appeared on April 27, 2005, (right). The nearly three Earth years of intervening time amount to about 1.4 Mars years. During this period, a couple of gullies formed on the dune slip face. It is critical to recognize that the 2002 image was obtained at a time of year when the incident sunlight was coming in from a lower angle, relative to the horizon, than in the 2005 image. If the gullies had been present in 2002, their appearance would be sharper and more pronounced than they are in the 2005 image. The gullies simply did not exist on July 17, 2002. The steep walls of the gully alcove and channels suggests that the sand in this dune is somewhat cohesive, an observation common among martian sand dunes seen by the Mars Orbiter Camera over the past eight years. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS |
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Evidence of Martian Quakes
| title |
Evidence of Martian Quakes |
| description |
One of the many mysteries associated with martian geology is the origin of gullies found at latitudes poleward of 30 degrees latitude. Most of these gullies are found within craters or other depressions, and appear to be related to the bedrock. Several hypotheses have been proposed for their origin, including groundwater seepage and melting at the base of a dust-mantled snow pack. Some middle-latitude gullies are found on sand dunes. These gullies appear to be different from those found on the slopes of craters, but generally have been interpreted to form by similar processes. In the present martian environment, it is difficult to introduce water to the surface. The temperature and atmospheric pressure may permit water to exist, but the rate of heating of the ground and atmosphere, and the amount of energy available to warm the ground or melt snow, are not conducive to such processes. An alternative process of gully formation on these sand dunes involves frozen carbon dioxide trapped in the winter by windblown sand, then subliming rapidly enough for the escaping carbon-dioxide gas to make the sand flow as a gully-cutting fluid. As part of extended-mission science investigation using the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, the camera team is re-imaging many locations where previous observations revealed gullies. The intent is to see if gully-forming processes are operating on Mars at the present time. The team has found one location where a new gully formed on a dune in an unnamed crater in the Hellespontus region of Mars, west of the Hellas Basin. This pair of narrow-angle images from the Mars Orbiter Camera shows the dune as it appeared on July 17, 2002, (left) and as it appeared on April 27, 2005, (right). The nearly three Earth years of intervening time amount to about 1.4 Mars years. During this period, a couple of gullies formed on the dune slip face. It is critical to recognize that the 2002 image was obtained at a time of year when the incident sunlight was coming in from a lower angle, relative to the horizon, than in the 2005 image. If the gullies had been present in 2002, their appearance would be sharper and more pronounced than they are in the 2005 image. The gullies simply did not exist on July 17, 2002. The steep walls of the gully alcove and channels suggests that the sand in this dune is somewhat cohesive, an observation common among martian sand dunes seen by the Mars Orbiter Camera over the past eight years. Wider context for the dune is shown in a mosaic of two images from the Thermal Emission Imaging System on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter, encompassing the dark-toned sand dune field on the floor of a crater located near 49.8 degrees south latitude, 325.4 degrees west longitude. In this image, north is approximately up and sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. More information about this image can be found at: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04290 |
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Spirit Rover on 'Husband Hil
…
| title |
Spirit Rover on 'Husband Hill' |
| Description |
Two Earth years ago, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit touched down in Gusev Crater. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth days) anniversary in November 2005. Shortly before Spirit's Martian anniversary, the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor acquired an image covering approximately 3 kilometers by 3 kilometers (1.9 miles by 1.9 miles) centered on the rover's location at that time in the "Columbia Hills.""Husband Hill," the tallest in the range, is just below the center of the image. The image has a resolution of about 50 centimeters (1.6 feet) per pixel. North is up, illumination is from the left. The location is near 14.8 degrees south latitude, 184.6 degrees west longitude. The image was acquired on Nov. 2, 2005. A white box indicates the location of an excerpted portion on which the location of Spirit on that date is marked. Dr. Timothy J. Parker of the Mars Exploration Rover team at the NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., confirmed the location of the rover in the image. The region toward the bottom of the image shows the area where the rover is currently headed. The large dark patch and other similar dark patches are accumulations of windblown sand and granules. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS |
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Spirit's Neighborhood in 'Co
…
| title |
Spirit's Neighborhood in 'Columbia Hills,' in Stereo |
| Description |
Two Earth years ago, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit touched down in Gusev Crater. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth days) anniversary in November 2005. On Nov. 2, 2005, shortly before Spirit's Martian anniversary, the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor acquired an image covering approximately 3 kilometers by 3 kilometers (1.9 miles by 1.9 miles) centered on the rover's location in the "Columbia Hills." The tinted portion of this image gives a stereo, three-dimensional view when observed through 3-D glasses with a red left eye and blue right eye. The tallest peak is "Husband Hill," which was climbed by Spirit during much of 2005. The region south (toward the bottom) of these images shows the area where the rover is currently headed. The large dark patch and other similar dark patches in these images are accumulations of windblown sand and granules. North is up, illumination is from the left. The location is near 14.8 degrees south latitude, 184.6 degrees west longitude. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS |
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Spirit on "Husband Hill," wi
…
| title |
Spirit on "Husband Hill," with 2004 Comparison |
| Description |
Two Earth years ago, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit touched down in Gusev Crater. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth days) anniversary in November 2005. On Nov. 2, 2005, shortly before Spirit's Martian anniversary, the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor acquired an image centered on the rover's location in the "Columbia Hills." The location of Spirit on that date is circled on the image on the right. On the left, for comparison, is an image from Jan. 10, 2004, when few dreamed that the Spirit would ever reach the hills from its landing site about three kilometers (two miles) away. The newer image has a resolution of about 50 centimeters (1.6 feet) per pixel. North is up, illumination is from the left. The location is near 14.8 degrees south latitude, 184.6 degrees west longitude. Dr. Timothy J. Parker of the Mars Exploration Rover team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., confirmed the location of the rover in the 2005 image. The scale bar is 50 meters (164 feet). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS |
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New Gullies on Martian Sand
…
| title |
New Gullies on Martian Sand Dune |
| Description |
One of the many mysteries associated with martian geology is the origin of gullies found at latitudes poleward of 30 degrees latitude. Most of these gullies are found within craters or other depressions, and appear to be related to the bedrock. Several hypotheses have been proposed for their origin, including groundwater seepage and melting at the base of a dust-mantled snow pack. Some middle-latitude gullies are found on sand dunes. These gullies appear to be different from those found on the slopes of craters, but generally have been interpreted to form by similar processes. In the present martian environment, it is difficult to introduce water to the surface. The temperature and atmospheric pressure may permit water to exist, but the rate of heating of the ground and atmosphere, and the amount of energy available to warm the ground or melt snow, are not conducive to such processes. An alternative process of gully formation on these sand dunes involves frozen carbon dioxide trapped in the winter by windblown sand, then subliming rapidly enough for the escaping carbon-dioxide gas to make the sand flow as a gully-cutting fluid. As part of extended-mission science investigation using the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, the camera team is re-imaging many locations where previous observations revealed gullies. The intent is to see if gully-forming processes are operating on Mars at the present time. The team has found one location where a new gully formed on a dune in an unnamed crater in the Hellespontus region of Mars, west of the Hellas Basin. This pair of narrow-angle images from the Mars Orbiter Camera shows the dune as it appeared on July 17, 2002, (left) and as it appeared on April 27, 2005, (right). The nearly three Earth years of intervening time amount to about 1.4 Mars years. During this period, a couple of gullies formed on the dune slip face. It is critical to recognize that the 2002 image was obtained at a time of year when the incident sunlight was coming in from a lower angle, relative to the horizon, than in the 2005 image. If the gullies had been present in 2002, their appearance would be sharper and more pronounced than they are in the 2005 image. The gullies simply did not exist on July 17, 2002. The steep walls of the gully alcove and channels suggests that the sand in this dune is somewhat cohesive, an observation common among martian sand dunes seen by the Mars Orbiter Camera over the past eight years. Wider context for the dune is shown in a mosaic of two images from the Thermal Emission Imaging System on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter (insert MOC2-1212a), encompassing the dark-toned sand dune field on the floor of a crater located near 49.8 degrees south latitude, 325.4 degrees west longitude. In this image, north is approximately up and sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. Based on earlier observations of other dune fields with gullies, camera-team scientists suspect that, these gullies form by a process other than water fluidization. An image of a dune in Russell Crater, taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera in March 2001, (insert MOC2-1212c) shows how the morphology of the dune's slip face changes with direction: Gullies form on pole-facing slopes (southwest in this case), while normal slip-face avalanche features ("avalanches" in the figure) are seen on the equator-facing slopes (northwest in this case). Most of the dunes that have gullies on them are located in the Hellespontus and Noachis regions, and are frost-covered during the winter. Based on experience in Antarctica and other cold regions on Earth, it is known that snow and ice can be incorporated into dunes during winter. An example is the layering of snow buried in a sand dune in Victoria Valley, Antarctica, seen in a photograph taken by Michael Malin during the austral summer of 1982-1983 (insert MOC2-1212d). Active sand dunes in cold regions such as Antarctica and northern Canada commonly incorporate wintertime snow as new sand avalanches down a slip face and covers the frozen material. A similar process might occur for middle and high latitude dunes on Mars, although in many cases the "snow" would consist mostly of carbon-dioxide frost, with minimal water ice. What would happen to carbon-dioxide frost incorporated into a martian sand dune? On surfaces that receive early and direct sunlight, the sand would heat and the carbon-dioxide frost would sublime over a period of time, undermining the slope and promoting normal sand sliding. On slopes that were initially shaded and later exposed to direct sunlight, heating would be delayed and the carbon dioxide frost would sublime rapidly. This rapid formation of carbon-dioxide gas may act to fluidize overlying sand, causing it to flow rather than avalanche, and thus create a gully. The Mars Orbiter Camera was built and is operated by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif. Mars Global Surveyor left Earth on Nov. 7, 1996, and began orbiting Mars on Sept. 12, 1997. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages Mars Global Surveyor for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS/ASU |
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| Description |
Browse Image | Medium Image (129 kB) | Large (20.4 MB) Hi-Res (NASA's Planetary Photojournal) [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08813 ] |
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Martian Gullies
PIA04146
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Martian Gullies |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
13 August 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows gullies cut into layered rock and debris on the wall of a south middle-latitude crater. Gullies such as these are common at middle latitudes and may have required water to form. "Location near": 41.1°S, 204.8°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": upper left "Season": Southern Spring |
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East Tharsis Pit Chain
PIA03987
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
East Tharsis Pit Chain |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
7 July 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dark, windblown sand dunes in the caldera of Nili Patera, a volcanic crater in Syrtis Major. The dunes were formed by winds blowing from the northeast (upper right). "Location near": 16.0°N, 93.1°W"Image width": ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": lower left "Season" Northern Autumn |
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West Arabia Barchans
PIA04101
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
West Arabia Barchans |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
16 July 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows small barchan dunes on the floor of a crater in western Arabia Terra. Similar dunes are found in most of the larger craters of the region. The steepest slopes on these dunes, their slipfaces, point toward the west-southwest, indicating that dominant winds blow from the east-northeast (upper right). "Location near": 10.9°N, 2.8°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Northern Autumn |
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South Polar Scene
PIA03020
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
South Polar Scene |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
8 October 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows two circular features in the south polar region of Mars. The circular features are degraded impact craters. The dark, irregular features in each crater are the remnants of a layer of material that probably once covered the entire scene, before being eroded away. All of the terrain in this image is covered by defrosting, seasonal carbon dioxide frost. "Location near": 79.5°S, 295.0°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": upper left "Season": Southern Spring |
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Crater in Sabaeus
PIA03036
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Crater in Sabaeus |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
12 October 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a portion of an old impact crater in the Sinus Sabaeus region of Mars, just south of the large impact basin, Schiaparelli. "Location near": 6.3°S, 341.7°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Southern Spring |
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Arabian Crater
PIA03018
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Arabian Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
6 October 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an old impact crater in southeastern Arabia Terra. The crater ejecta blanket is no longer visible and all of the terrain has been covered by a mantle of dust. The dark streaks on the crater wall are the result of dry avalanches of dust, the darker streaks formed more recently than the lighter-toned streaks. Indeed, the darkest streak is likely to be less than a few years old. "Location near": 3.0°N, 315.6°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Northern Autumn |
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Huygens Wind Streak
PIA03005
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Huygens Wind Streak |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
19 September 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows the results of wind action on the floor of the giant martian impact basin, Huygens. The large crater in this image has a wind streak on its lee side, pointing toward the lower right (southeast). Usually, a light-toned wind streak behind a crater on Mars will be composed of a thin veneer of dust that the wind was not able to erode because it was protected by the presence of the crater's raised rims. In this case, the streak is caused by something different -- by the fact that dark, windblown sand has not been able to accumulate behind the crater. "Location near": 13.0°S, 303.7°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Southern Spring |
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Wind Streak in Daedalia
PIA03050
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Wind Streak in Daedalia |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
20 October 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a wind streak formed in the lee of an impact crater in western Daedalia Planum. "Location near": 12.7°S, 136.6°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Southern Spring |
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Exhuming Landforms
PIA03071
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Exhuming Landforms |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
26 October 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a crater and adjacent terrain that have been exhumed from beneath a wind-eroded material. The sharp, pointy ridges inside and immediately adjacent to the crater are the remains of a material that once covered the entire scene. Wind has stripped these materials away, forming yardangs. Inside the crater, the erosion has revealed an older, eroded layered material. This smooth-surfaced layered feature inside the crater was already eroded to nearly its present shape before the yardang-forming material was deposited (and then eroded away). "Location near": 7.2°N, 156.4°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Northern Winter |
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Crater and Flows
PIA03074
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Crater and Flows |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
29 October 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a crater surrounded by thin flows in southeastern Kasei Valles. The flows might have been lava or mud. The picture was acquired in August 2005. "Location near": 14.2°N, 75.1°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": left/lower left "Season": Northern Autumn |
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Russell Dune Gullies
PIA03089
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Russell Dune Gullies |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
5 November 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows gullies and dust devil streaks on the slopes of a large dune in Russell Crater. Gullies on martian dunes typically occur only in the Noachis Terra region, and almost exclusively form on southward-facing slopes. They might be the result of downslope movement of sand mixed with a fluid such as carbon dioxide gas or water that had been trapped as ice in the dune. "Location near": 54.6°S, 347.2°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": upper left "Season": Southern Spring |
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Terby's Layers
PIA03085
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Terby's Layers |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
2 November 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows light-toned, layered, sedimentary rock exposures in Terby Crater, just north of Hellas Planitia. These rocks might have formed from sediment deposited in a lake or a larger Hellas-filling sea. "Location near": 28.0°S, 285.4°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": upper left "Season": Southern Spring |
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Herschel's Dunes
PIA03099
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Herschel's Dunes |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
10 November 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dark, windblown sand dunes in Herschel Crater. The winds responsible for these dunes came from the northeast (upper right). "Location near": 15.6°S, 228.6°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Southern Spring |
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Sedimentary Rocks
PIA03090
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Sedimentary Rocks |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
6 November 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows outcrops of sedimentary rocks in a crater located just north of the Sinus Meridiani region. Perhaps the crater was once the site of a martian lake. "Location near": 2.9°N, 359.0°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Northern Autumn |
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Impact Crater
PIA03091
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Impact Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
7 November 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a meteor impact crater in northern Tharsis. This crater is a bit more than 2 kilometers wide -- about twice the size of the famous Meteor Crater in northern Arizona, U.S.A. Many smaller craters can be seen superimposed upon the ~2 km diameter crater. "Location near": 34.4°N, 118.8°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Northern Autumn |
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Dust-covered Flow
PIA03547
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Dust-covered Flow |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
17 November 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an ancient lava flow surface near the volcano, Ascraeus Mons. The volcanic material has been completely covered by thick accumulations of dust. An earlier accumulation of dust or ash was eroded by wind to form the sharp, nearly triangular hills and ridges seen on top of the flow surfaces. A small impact crater with bouldery ejecta has formed on top of the old flow material in the southern (lower) quarter of the image. "Location near": 8.5°N, 110.5°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Northern Autumn |
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Crater Interior
PIA03572
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Crater Interior |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
30 November 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows complexly-eroded terrain within a partially-filled impact crater in Noachis Terra. "Location near": 48.5°S, 336.2°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)"Illumination from": upper left "Season": Southern Summer |
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Daedalia Streak
PIA03573
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Daedalia Streak |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
1 December 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a dark wind streak formed in the lee of a crater in Daedalia Planum. The winds responsible for the streak blew from right (east) to left (west). "Location near": 11.7°S, 136.4°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)"Illumination from": lower left "Season": Southern Summer |
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Gullied Slope
PIA03590
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Gullied Slope |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
24 November 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a suite of south mid-latitude gullies on a crater wall. Gullies such as these may have formed by runoff of liquid water. "Location near": 35.6°S, 204.5°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)"Illumination from": upper left "Season": Southern Summer |
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Crater in Arabia
PIA03587
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Crater in Arabia |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
21 November 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a dust-mantled crater in central Arabia Terra. Light and dark slope streaks have formed on the crater walls, as dry dust has slid down the slopes. "Location near": 12.7°N, 319.1°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)"Illumination from": lower left "Season": Northern Autumn |
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Mid-latitude Gullies
PIA03591
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Mid-latitude Gullies |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
25 November 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a suite of south mid-latitude gullies on a crater wall. Gullies such as these may have formed by runoff of liquid water. "Location near": 38.0°S, 167.2°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)"Illumination from": upper left "Season": Southern Summer |
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Landslide in Mutch
PIA03584
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Landslide in Mutch |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
18 November 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows the east margin of a landslide off the southern rim of Mutch Crater in the Xanthe Terra region of Mars. This particular landslide was likely triggered by a meteor impact that occurred nearby. "Location near": 0.7°S, 55.9°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Southern Spring |
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South Mid-latitude Gullies
PIA03585
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
South Mid-latitude Gullies |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
19 November 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows deep gullies cut into the wall of a south mid-latitude crater. Erosion has exposed layers in the upper wall of the crater, it is possible that groundwater seeping through a layer or layers in the wall led to the genesis of the gullies. The banked nature of the gully channels suggests that a liquid was involved. "Location near": 35.5°S, 194.8°W "Image width": width: ~2 km (~1.2 mi)"Illumination from": upper left "Season": Southern Spring |
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8°N 7°W Crater
PIA03586
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
8°N 7°W Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
20 November 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows light-toned, layered, sedimentary rock outcrops in an unnamed crater located at 8°N, 7°W. Dark, windblown sand enhances the contrast in this view. Hundreds of layers of repeated thickness and physical properties suggest that a cyclic or at least episodic process acted over a considerable period of time to deposit these materials in the crater. At the time the sediments were deposited, the crater might have hosted a lake. "Location near": 6.1°N, 10.7°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)"Illumination from": lower left "Season": Northern Autumn |
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Crater and Streaks
PIA03618
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Crater and Streaks |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
4 December 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a trough formed of coalesced collapse pits in the Tractus Catena region of northern Tharsis, Mars. "Location near": 54.8°S, 0.7°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)"Illumination from": upper left "Season": Southern Summer |
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Gullied Crater
PIA03619
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Gullied Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
5 December 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows gullies formed in the walls of an impact crater. Such gullies might result from seepage and runoff of groundwater, others have suggested snowmelt might be involved, although there is no evidence for snow at this location. "Location near": 35.7°S, 207.6°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)"Illumination from": upper left "Season": Southern Summer |
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Descent from the Summit of '
…
PIA03641
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Descent from the Summit of 'Husband Hill' (False Color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
In late November 2005 while descending "Husband Hill," NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took the most detailed panorama so far of the "Inner Basin," the rover's next target destination. Spirit acquired the 405 individual images that make up this 360-degree view of the surrounding terrain using five different filters on the panoramic camera. The rover took the images on Martian days, or sols, 672 to 677 (Nov. 23 to 28, 2005 -- the Thanksgiving holiday weekend). This image is a false-color rendering using camera's 750-, 530-, and 430-nanometer filters, emphasizing some colors more than others to enhance striking but subtle color differences among rocks, soils, hills, and plains. "Home Plate," a bright, semi-circular feature scientists hope to investigate, is harder to discern in this image than in earlier views taken from higher up the hill. Spirit acquired this more oblique view, known as the "Seminole panorama," from about halfway down the south flank of Husband Hill, 50 meters (164 feet) or so below the summit. Near the center of the panorama, on the horizon, are "McCool Hill" and "Ramon Hill," named, like Husband Hill, in honor of the fallen astronauts of the space shuttle Columbia. Husband Hill is visible behind the rover, on the right and left sides of the panorama. An arc of rover tracks made while avoiding obstacles and getting into position to examine rock outcrops can be traced over a long distance by zooming in to explore the panorama in greater detail. Spirit is now significantly farther downhill toward the center of this panorama, en route to Home Plate and other enigmatic soils and outcrop rocks in the quest to uncover the history of Gusev Crater and the "Columbia Hills." |
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2 Years on Mars! Meridiani P
…
PIA03691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani Planum Features Investigated by the Rover, Opportunity |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
24 January 2006 Two years ago, the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, landed on Meridiani Planum. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth Days) anniversary in December 2005. Two pictures are shown here: the one on the right is the same as that on the left, except that key features have been labeled. Both pictures include a colored portion -- a 3-d (stereo) anaglyph which can be viewed using "3-d" glasses with a red left eye and a blue right eye. Figures 2 and 3 are MOC narrow angle non-stereo images. During the landing in January 2004, rockets were fired to slow the final descent, just before the inflated airbags (containing the folded-up lander and rover) were released. The rockets disturbed the sandy surface at the location labeled "blast effects." Following release, the airbags bounced and rolled until coming to rest inside Eagle Crater. The lander, in fact, can be seen as a bright spot near the center of Eagle Crater. Meanwhile, the jettisoned parachute and backshell landed to the southwest of Eagle, and the heatshield fell just southwest of Endurance Crater. Opportunity initially examined sedimentary rock outcrops and sandy, windblown regolith within Eagle Crater. Then it was driven by the rover team out of Eagle and on into Endurance Crater. By the end of 2004, Opportunity had left Endurance and was investigating the site where the heatshield impacted the surface. After that, the rover spent much of the year 2005 driving from the heatshield location down to the shallow Erebus Crater. Long-term plans call for driving Opportunity from Erebus to Victoria Crater, where a substantially thicker sequence of layered rock is expected to be found, relative to previous outcrops examined in the craters Endurance and Eagle. "Location near": 2.0°S, 5.6°W "Image width": 300 m scale bar = 984 ft "Illumination from": left |
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2 Years on Mars! Meridiani P
…
PIA03691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani Planum Features Investigated by the Rover, Opportunity |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
24 January 2006 Two years ago, the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, landed on Meridiani Planum. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth Days) anniversary in December 2005. Two pictures are shown here: the one on the right is the same as that on the left, except that key features have been labeled. Both pictures include a colored portion -- a 3-d (stereo) anaglyph which can be viewed using "3-d" glasses with a red left eye and a blue right eye. Figures 2 and 3 are MOC narrow angle non-stereo images. During the landing in January 2004, rockets were fired to slow the final descent, just before the inflated airbags (containing the folded-up lander and rover) were released. The rockets disturbed the sandy surface at the location labeled "blast effects." Following release, the airbags bounced and rolled until coming to rest inside Eagle Crater. The lander, in fact, can be seen as a bright spot near the center of Eagle Crater. Meanwhile, the jettisoned parachute and backshell landed to the southwest of Eagle, and the heatshield fell just southwest of Endurance Crater. Opportunity initially examined sedimentary rock outcrops and sandy, windblown regolith within Eagle Crater. Then it was driven by the rover team out of Eagle and on into Endurance Crater. By the end of 2004, Opportunity had left Endurance and was investigating the site where the heatshield impacted the surface. After that, the rover spent much of the year 2005 driving from the heatshield location down to the shallow Erebus Crater. Long-term plans call for driving Opportunity from Erebus to Victoria Crater, where a substantially thicker sequence of layered rock is expected to be found, relative to previous outcrops examined in the craters Endurance and Eagle. "Location near": 2.0°S, 5.6°W "Image width": 300 m scale bar = 984 ft "Illumination from": left |
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2 Years on Mars! Meridiani P
…
PIA03691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani Planum Features Investigated by the Rover, Opportunity |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
24 January 2006 Two years ago, the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, landed on Meridiani Planum. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth Days) anniversary in December 2005. Two pictures are shown here: the one on the right is the same as that on the left, except that key features have been labeled. Both pictures include a colored portion -- a 3-d (stereo) anaglyph which can be viewed using "3-d" glasses with a red left eye and a blue right eye. Figures 2 and 3 are MOC narrow angle non-stereo images. During the landing in January 2004, rockets were fired to slow the final descent, just before the inflated airbags (containing the folded-up lander and rover) were released. The rockets disturbed the sandy surface at the location labeled "blast effects." Following release, the airbags bounced and rolled until coming to rest inside Eagle Crater. The lander, in fact, can be seen as a bright spot near the center of Eagle Crater. Meanwhile, the jettisoned parachute and backshell landed to the southwest of Eagle, and the heatshield fell just southwest of Endurance Crater. Opportunity initially examined sedimentary rock outcrops and sandy, windblown regolith within Eagle Crater. Then it was driven by the rover team out of Eagle and on into Endurance Crater. By the end of 2004, Opportunity had left Endurance and was investigating the site where the heatshield impacted the surface. After that, the rover spent much of the year 2005 driving from the heatshield location down to the shallow Erebus Crater. Long-term plans call for driving Opportunity from Erebus to Victoria Crater, where a substantially thicker sequence of layered rock is expected to be found, relative to previous outcrops examined in the craters Endurance and Eagle. "Location near": 2.0°S, 5.6°W "Image width": 300 m scale bar = 984 ft "Illumination from": left |
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2 Years on Mars! Meridiani P
…
PIA03691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani Planum Features Investigated by the Rover, Opportunity |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
24 January 2006 Two years ago, the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, landed on Meridiani Planum. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth Days) anniversary in December 2005. Two pictures are shown here: the one on the right is the same as that on the left, except that key features have been labeled. Both pictures include a colored portion -- a 3-d (stereo) anaglyph which can be viewed using "3-d" glasses with a red left eye and a blue right eye. Figures 2 and 3 are MOC narrow angle non-stereo images. During the landing in January 2004, rockets were fired to slow the final descent, just before the inflated airbags (containing the folded-up lander and rover) were released. The rockets disturbed the sandy surface at the location labeled "blast effects." Following release, the airbags bounced and rolled until coming to rest inside Eagle Crater. The lander, in fact, can be seen as a bright spot near the center of Eagle Crater. Meanwhile, the jettisoned parachute and backshell landed to the southwest of Eagle, and the heatshield fell just southwest of Endurance Crater. Opportunity initially examined sedimentary rock outcrops and sandy, windblown regolith within Eagle Crater. Then it was driven by the rover team out of Eagle and on into Endurance Crater. By the end of 2004, Opportunity had left Endurance and was investigating the site where the heatshield impacted the surface. After that, the rover spent much of the year 2005 driving from the heatshield location down to the shallow Erebus Crater. Long-term plans call for driving Opportunity from Erebus to Victoria Crater, where a substantially thicker sequence of layered rock is expected to be found, relative to previous outcrops examined in the craters Endurance and Eagle. "Location near": 2.0°S, 5.6°W "Image width": 300 m scale bar = 984 ft "Illumination from": left |
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Flow Front and Crater
PIA03927
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Flow Front and Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
5 June 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an impact crater in the volcanic Tharsis region of Mars. The margins of a lava flow are seen to the north (above) the crater. "Location near": 22.2°N, 114.2°W"Image width": ~3 km (~1.9 mi "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Northern Autumn |
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Young Impact
PIA03919
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Young Impact |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
27 May 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a small, relatively young impact crater in the Xanthe Terra region of Mars. Boulders can be seen in the crater ejecta deposit. "Location near": 2.3°N, 57.8°W "Image width": ~3 km (~1.9 mi "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Northern Autumn |
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Defrosting Features
PIA03921
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Defrosting Features |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
29 May 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a surface in the south polar region, covered by carbon dioxide frost. In this springtime scene, the frost has begun to sublime or change character so that sandy surfaces exhibit an abundance of dark spots. The circular depression is probably the remains of an impact crater. In summer, the spotted surfaces in this image would be darker than their surroundings, because they are patches of windblown sand. "Location near": 67.6°S, 254.3°W"Image width": ~3 km (~1.9 mi "Illumination from": upper left "Season": Southern Spring |
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South Hemisphere Gullies
PIA03955
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
South Hemisphere Gullies |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
18 June 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a 1.5 meters per pixel view of gullies formed in material on the walls of an impact crater in the martian southern hemisphere. A liquid, laden with debris, poured down these slopes to form the gullies. Gully erosion cut through a thick mantle that covers the original crater wall, and then cut into the old wall itself. The source of the liquid might have been within the layered material exposed in the crater walls. "Location near": 46.6°S, 151.8°W "Image width": ~2 km (~1.2 mi) "Illumination from": upper left "Season": Southern Spring |
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Tikhonravov Layers
PIA03962
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Tikhonravov Layers |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
23 June 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows layered sedimentary rocks exposed by erosion, then mantled by dust, in Tikhonravov Crater in central Arabia Terra. Dark slope streaks occur where some of the dust has slid down the layered slopes. "Location near": 13.8°N, 324.8°W "Image width": ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Northern Autumn |
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Arabian Dunes
PIA03944
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Arabian Dunes |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
11 June 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a field of low-albedo (dark) barchan sand dunes in a crater located in western Arabia Terra. Small dunes like these are common in the craters of western Arabia Terra and they are often the source of finer, dark sediment that forms windstreaks further downwind. The steepest slopes on the dunes, their "slipfaces", are pointed toward the southeast (lower right), indicating that the dominant winds in this location come from the opposite direction. "Location near": 6.4°N, 346.2°W "Image width": ~3 km (~1.9 mi "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Northern Autumn |
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Bouldery Impact
PIA03945
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Bouldery Impact |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
12 June 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an impact crater with large boulders along its rim. The crater is located in Tempe Terra. "Location near": 36.6°N, 88.9°W "Image width": ~3 km (~1.9 mi "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Northern Autumn |
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Dark Martian Dunes
PIA03976
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Dark Martian Dunes |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
30 June 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dark, windblown sand dunes in a crater in the Hesperia region of Mars. The steepest slopes on the dunes -- their "slipfaces" -- point toward the south-southwest, indicating that the winds responsible for the dunes blew from the north-northeast (top/upper right). "Location near": 12.4°S, 236.5°W "Image width": ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": upper left "Season" Southern Spring |
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Knobby Eastern Arabia
PIA03978
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Knobby Eastern Arabia |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
2 July 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a 1.4 meters per pixel (~5 ft/pixel) view of an eroded landscape north of the crater, Antoniadi, in far eastern Arabia Terra. Each knob and butte in this image is a remanant of a formerly more-extensive layered rock unit that has been largely eroded away. "Location near": 84.2°S, 138.3°W "Image width": ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": upper left "Season" Southern Spring |
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Dunes of Herschel
PIA04133
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Dunes of Herschel |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
4 August 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dark-toned sand dunes on the floor of the large martian impact crater, Herschel, located in the Terra Cimmeria region of Mars. The winds responsible for these dunes blew from the northeast (upper right). "Location near": 15.7°S, 228.6°W "Image width": width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": upper left "Season": Southern Spring |
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