11/9/09

Landscapes of Mars

Eroded Layered Deposit near Ismenius Lacus

Aeolian Dune Monitoring Site

Very Fresh 1-Kilometer Diameter Impact Crater

Possible Phyllosilicates

Sand Dunes

View of Gullied Crater

All photos credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

These stunning photos are images of Mars taken from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been orbiting the planet at a height of about 300 km. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera has taken nearly 12000 pictures of Mars, and they are all posted on the HiRISE website. It is truly astounding that we can see such detailed images of the surface of Mars, but apart from this mind-boggling fact with all its cosmic implications, the pictures themselves have an eery beauty all on their own.

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