HiRISE images for December 23, 2009

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

• Dark Sand and Bright Bedrock in Terra Meridiani
  This HiRISE image shows dark sand covering bright bedrock in the Terra Meridiani region of Mars.
• Edge Along Gale Crater Interior Mound
  Gale Crater is one of several craters around the equator that have deposits of light-toned layered deposits. This HiRISE image covers the northern edge of the light-toned layered deposit in the center mound of Gale Crater, as well as a small portion of the crater floor.
• Exposure of Polar Layered Deposits with Unconformities
  This image shows a portion of the north polar layered deposits (PLD). The PLD are layers that have been deposited over an extensive area at both poles possibly throughout Martian history.
• Bouncing Boulders
  Most debris on crater walls slides straight downhill. In this HiRISE image we see examples of boulders that have bounced downhill, not necessarily vertically.
• Search for Mars Polar Lander
  Somewhere in this patterned landscape less than 1,000 kilometers (about 600 miles) from the south pole of Mars, a treasure may be hiding.
• Gullies on the Northwest Rim of Hale Crater
  This image covers part of the Northwest rim of Hale Crater. Gullies have formed down the interior rim of the crater in this location.
• The Dark Spot on Mars
  On 13 October 1659, Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens turned one of his telescopes towards a bright orange spot in the sky and produced what Percival Lowell would later call "the first drawing of Mars worthy of the name ever made by man." Huygens included a dark spot in his drawing that is thought to represent Syrtis Major, a small sliver of which is visible in this HiRISE image.

 

Source: University Of Arizona
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