HiRISE images for December 16, 2009

The following new images taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft are now available:

• New Impact Crater: Formed between Jan 2006 and May 2008
  This impact crater is only about 5.5 meters (18 feet) across - tiny compared to the giant basins that scar most planetary bodies. This type of bowl-shaped crater is called a simple crater. It's "simple" compared to larger craters that have terraces, central peaks and rings, and other, more complex, shapes.
• Holden Crater Megabreccia: A Telltale Sign of a Sudden and Violent Event
  This HiRISE image covers the southwest portion of the terraces and floor of Holden Crater situated in southwest Margaritifer Terra.
• Faults and Pits in the North Polar Residual Ice Cap
  This full HiRISE image shows faults and pits in the north polar residual cap that have not been previously recognized.
• Alluvial Fans in Mojave Crater: Did It Rain on Mars?
  Aptly-named Mojave Crater in the Xanthe Terra region has alluvial fans that look remarkably similar to landforms in the Mojave Desert of southeastern California and portions of Nevada and Arizona.
• North Polar Layered Deposits in Head Scarp of Chasma Boreale
  This false-color subimage shows the north polar layered deposits at top and darker materials at bottom exposed in a scarp at the head of Chasma Boreale, a large canyon eroded into the layered deposits.

 

Source: University Of Arizona
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