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What it is : Dunes on Mars

Where it is : Around Planum Boreum , the north polar ice ceiling onMars

An aerial view of waving sand dunes

Strong winds from the polar cap have created long, parallel dunes closest to it, while those farther away are crescent-shaped.

When it was partake : Aug 6 , 2024

Why it ’s so special : This week , researchers at the University of Arizona ( UA ) deal one of the most beautiful images of dunes on the Earth’s surface of Mars ever take . The team click the persona using theHigh - Resolution Imaging Science Experiment ( HiRISE ) camera , which is operated by UA scientist and lives on boardNASA ’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter ( MRO ) .

As it pounce around the Red Planet , MRO search for grounds that there was once far-flung water on Mars ' control surface and traces how much dust and water supply are distributed in its atmosphere , according toNASA . in the beginning taken on Sept. 1 , 2008 , andreshared this week , this image shows a dune field near the base of Mars ' north polar frappe cap , Planum Boreum . About 620 mi ( 1,000 kilometers ) in diameter , it turn back canon , chasms and spiraling troughs , grant toNASA . gird the water ice cap are large , windblown dune fields that may form from the dust-covered ice layers eroded by strong opposite winds .

An aerial view of sand dunes

An uncropped version of the photo.

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In this image , winds from the diametrical cap have created longsighted , parallel dune skinny to it and crescent - shaped dunes farther away . The sand dune miss icing because the image was use up during summer in Mars ' northern hemisphere .

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MRO delivers the most beautiful , utmost - come together - up photography of the Martian surface . Its previous images includealmost dead circularsand dunes androcks that look like a teddy bear .

Still frame of mars clouds captured from NASA rover showing iridescent colors and white plumes.

MRO launched on Aug. 12 , 2005 , and begin revolve Mars on March 12 , 2006 . Its primary charge end in 2010 , but it still form part of NASA ’s communications net at Mars and sends back image from HiRISE . UA’sLunar Planetary Laboratoryplans HiRISE ’s look-alike , sends commands , and serve unsanded datum into look-alike .

a photograph of Mars rising behind the moon

A photograph taken from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which shows wave-like patterns inside a Mars crater.

A photo of the sun setting from the Moon

A hypothetical picture of Mars 3.6 billion years ago, with the ocean Deuteronilus covering half the planet.

an illustration of Mars

an aerial view of a rock on Mars

A new study has revealed that lichens can withstand the intense ionizing radiation that hits Mars� surface. (The lichen in this photo is Cetraria aculeata.)

NASA�s Curiosity rover took this selfie while inside Mars� Gale crater on June 15, 2018, which was the 2,082nd Martian day, or sol, of the rover�s mission.

An artist�s illustration of Mars�s Gale Crater beginning to catch the morning light.

Three-dimensional rendering of an HIV virus

three prepackaged sandwiches

Tunnel view of Yosemite National Park.

A scuba diver descends down a deep ocean reef wall into the abyss.

Remains of the Heroon, a small temple built for the burial cluster of Philip II at the Museum of the Royal Tombs inside the Great Tumulus of Aigai (Aegae)