* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: Mars Reconnaissance orbiter

Blobrana · L

New images for 26 December 2007

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South Polar Layered Deposits and Residual Ice Cap (PSP_006270_0955) A wide variety of south polar terrains are on display in this spectacular HiRISE color image.	Repeated Erosion and Deposition in the South Polar Layered Deposits (PSP_005788_1035) These deposits, like the north polar layered deposits, are thought to contain a record of global climate changes on Mars.	Crater on the South Polar Layered Deposits (PSP_005748_1075) An example of "angular unconformity," where layers do not conform to each other across a boundary.
Distorted Layers in the South Polar Layered Deposits (PSP_005418_1075) What's striking in this observation is that the layers are not flat-lying, but appear wavy.	Impact Crater on the South Polar Layered Deposits (PSP_005392_0995) Layers in the polar regions are of great interest since they contain records of past planetary conditions.	South Polar Layered Deposits (PSP_004965_0980) Polar layered deposits are interesting because they were probably formed by global climate changes on Mars, like ice ages on Earth.

Blobrana · L

New images for 19 December 2007

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Santa Claus Craters (PSP_006271_2210) These unusual craters were spotted in Arcadia Planitia, which is part of an extensive region of Mars blanketed by a thick layer of bright dust.	Chryse Planitia Surfaces (PSP_006268_1995) Part of the surface of Chryse Planitia, near the mouth of several of giant outflow channels carved by massive floods.	Exposure of Basal Section of Polar Layered Deposits (PSP_006262_1080) The layers were laid down over a large area near the south pole, probably over the past few million years.
Cerberus Fossae and Surrounding Features (PSP_006234_1870) Lightly cratered plains in Elysium Planitia, a low-lying area located in the equatorial region of Mars.	Pang Boche Crater (PSP_005388_1975) Geologically young craters are important to investigate the current cratering rate on Mars

Blobrana · L

New images for 12 December 2007

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Basal Exposure of the South Polar Layered Deposits (PSP_006243_0975) South polar layered deposits are an accumulation of layers of mostly water ice and dust, similar in some ways to the ice caps in Greenland and Antarctica.	Wrinkle Ridges in Hesperia Planum (PSP_006223_1600) Wrinkle ridges are most commonly believed to form from horizontal compression or shortening of the crust due to faulting and are often found in volcanic plains.	Fractures and Grooves in South Polar Layered Deposits (PSP_006151_0975) In this example, the icy, dusty layers are barely visible, obscured by a complex system of ridges and fractures that formed after the layers were deposited.
Sand and Rock in Meridiani Planum (PSP_006148_1820) There are two broad categories of material in the image: light-toned sedimentary rock and dark-toned material, which is likely wind-blown sand.	Complex Folded Terrain on the Floor of Hellas Basin (PSP_006133_1410) Hellas is the deepest impact basin on Mars and perhaps in the Solar System.	Time-Lapse Case Study (PSP_005579_0935) The sequence of events experienced by araneiform terrain at Mars south pole are investigated in a series of images acquired through spring and summer in the southern hemisphere.
Lizard-Skin Surface Texture (PSP_003730_0945) The south polar region of Mars is covered seasonally with translucent carbon dioxide ice.	Starburst Channels (PSP_003443_0980) Translucent carbon dioxide ice covers the polar regions of Mars seasonally, warmed and evaporating from below.	Dry Ice Etches Terrain (PSP_003364_0945) Every year seasonal carbon dioxide ice, known to us as "dry ice," covers the poles of Mars.
Cryptic Terrain on Mars (PSP_003179_0945) There is an enigmatic region near the south pole of Mars known as the "cryptic" terrain.	Bright Streaks and Dark Fans (PSP_003113_0940)	Isolated Araneiform Topography (PSP_003087_0930) Have you ever found that to describe something you had to go to the dictionary and search for just the right word?
Colour Reveals Translucent Seasonal Ice (PSP_002942_0935) In a region near the south pole of Mars translucent carbon dioxide ice covers the ground seasonally. For the first time we can see the translucent ice by the affect it has on the appearance of the surface below.	New Vocabulary: Araneiform and Lace Terrains (PSP_002651_0930) The south polar terrain on Mars contains landforms unlike any that we see on Earth, so much that a new vocabulary is required to describe them.	Active Processes: Bright Streaks and Dark Fans (PSP_002622_0945) In a region of the south pole known informally as "Ithaca" numerous fans of dark frost form every spring.
Field of Fans (PSP_002532_0935) In this image there are two lanes of undisturbed ice bordered by two lanes peppered with fans of dark dust.

-- Edited by Blobrana at 22:37, 2007-12-14

Blobrana · L

Spring at the South Pole of Mars
AGU Press Conference
C.J.Hansen, A. McEwen
December 2007

Starting last January, HiRISE embarked on a campaign to monitor the seasonal sublimation of the carbon dioxide ice in a few regions in what is known as the cryptic terrain, close to the south pole. The goal of the campaign was to use the new capabilities MRO / HiRISE has to offer (high resolution, color, the ability to collect stereo pairs and make anaglyphs) with CRISM to study a process unlike anything we experience on planet Earth.

Download the presentation (3mb, PDF)

Blobrana · L

New images for 5 December 2007

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Sinuous Pits on Flank of Ascraeus Mons (PSP_005387_1935) Troughs on the northeast flanks of Ascraeus Mons, one of the volcanoes on the Tharsis Rise, are the main points of interest in this observation.	Crater Partially Exhumed by Sublimation in Amphitrites Patera (PSP_005632_1225) This area constitutes the interior of an ancient impact crater that was filled by a layer of smooth material, possibly composed of ash and dust, mixed with interstitial ice.	Unusual Depression Near Elysium Mons (PSP_005879_2150) This unusual depression and the associated concentric rings are situated within an area thought to have been deposited as a mud flow.
Unconformity in the South Polar Layered Deposits (PSP_005946_0975) South polar layered deposits are an accumulation of mostly water ice and dust, similar in some ways to ice caps like those in Greenland and Antarctica.	Layering in Upper Walls of Valles Marineris (PSP_006006_1715) The layers, exposed in most rock outcrops in this image, are most likely lava flows from flood lavas which once erupted across the region.

Blobrana · L

New images for 28 November 2007

Transected Wrinkle Ridge in Ophir Chasma (PSP_005188_1765)	Pits Near Alba Patera (PSP_005334_2170)	South Polar Residual Cap Margin in Enhanced Color (PSP_005571_0950)
Unusual Depression Near Elysium Mons (PSP_005813_2150)	Layered Pit in Noctis Labyrinthus (PSP_005980_1725)

Blobrana · L

New images for 21 November 2007

Scalloped Terrain within a Crater at Peneus Patera (PSP_005342_1225)	Scarp and Landslides (PSP_005343_2170)	Colour View of Spirit at Home Plate (PSP_005456_1650)
Mass Wasting in Southern Hemisphere Crater (PSP_005799_1505) An impact crater in the southern hemisphere of Mars with striking mass wasting features on the northern wall.	Yardangs in Memnonia Sulci (PSP_005904_1725) Memnonia Sulci is southeast of Elysium Planitia at the boundary between the smooth lowlands and cratered southern highlands.	Landslide in Shalbatana Vallis (PSP_005965_1855) Shalbatana Vallis is a large channel that may be the result of lake formation and subsequent drainage from Ganges Chasma.

Blobrana · L

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Status Report
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter put itself into a safe standby mode Wed., Nov. 7, after the on-board computer detected that one of the solar panels was moving slower than had been commanded.
The solar panels subsequently have been moving properly, and engineers are working to restore the orbiter to full operations so it can continue scientific observations. At the beginning of this month, the mission completed the first full year of its two-year primary science phase.

Read more

Blobrana · L

New images for 14 November 2007

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Student Image of the Week: Layering Near Southern Polar Crater (PSP_003545_0995) This image was suggested by Vishal Bhalerao, a mechanical engineering student, from the K.K. Wagh Institute of Engineering Education in Maharashtra, India.	Crater Modified by Ice Processes (PSP_004867_1220) This image captures an impact crater on the surface of Amphitrites Patera, an ancient volcano on the southern margin of the giant Hellas Basin.	Plains in North Sinus Meridiani (PSP_005370_1845) Plains speckled with craters in north Sinus Meridiani, a dark albedo feature.
Gullies in the Eastern Hellas Region of Mars (PSP_005709_1405) Several gullies along the southern wall of unnamed crater in the eastern Hellas region of Mars.	Layering along West Ganges Chasma (PSP_005939_1720) A sequence of layered sedimentary rocks exposed along the wall of Ganges Chasma, in the northeast part of the Valles Marineris system.