Tag Archives: wind erosion

Opportunity report, Sol 4925, by A.J.S. Rayl, The Planetary Society

December 1, 2017: Opportunity Returns Fundamental Finding in Perseverance, Cruises Through Winter Solstice: Opportunity continued the historic winter science campaign inside Perseverance Valley and delivered the goods that confirmed an important discovery in November, and then cruised through winter solstice, … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Yardangs – nature’s weathervanes

The prominent tear-shaped features in this image are erosional features called yardangs. Yardangs are composed of sand grains that have clumped together and have become more resistant to erosion than their surrounding materials. As the winds of Mars blow and … Continue reading

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THEMIS: Rough-textured ridge in Melas Chasma

THEMIS Image of the Day, November 29, 2017. This VIS image shows part of a large ridge of material near the south central part the canyon. The roughest looking material is the top of the ridge. Wind may also have … Continue reading

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Opportunity: 10 feet back upslope

Sol 4890, October 26, 2017. Seeking to examine some rocks upslope from Opportunity’s last position, scientists drove the rover about 10 feet back. This places the front of the rover where the instrument arm can work on a target area … Continue reading

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HiRISE: A highly disrupted crater

This 2.5-kilometer diameter crater has been significantly altered from the usual bowl-shaped appearance we associate with craters. Material has covered significant portions of the ejecta and filled in the crater. This fill material has since been subject to erosion—like boulders … Continue reading

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THEMIS: Wind erosion on Hebes Mensa

THEMIS Image of the Day, August 17, 2017. The large mesa in the center of Hebes Chasma dominates this image. The top of the mesa is at the center of the image, with the cliff faces to the top and … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Bedrock outcrops in Kaiser Crater

This enhanced-color image shows a patch of well-exposed bedrock on the floor of Kaiser Crater. The wind has stripped off the overlying soil, and created grooves and scallops in the bedrock. The narrow linear ridges are fractures that have been … Continue reading

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THEMIS: Yardangs in Memnonia Sulci

THEMIS Image of the Day, January 9, 2017. Today’s VIS image shows some of the extensive wind etched terrain in Memnonia Sulci, located south west of Olympus Mons. The linear ridges are called yardangs and form by wind removal of … Continue reading

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Opportunity: Pancam checks Spirit Mound

Sol 4502, September 22, 2016. Above is a Pancam composite showing part of Spirit Mound and one of the small rocky “ridges” leading away from it. Pancam took a fully filtered set of images for the two leftmost frames (false-colored … Continue reading

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THEMIS: Geological jumble in Terra Sirenum

THEMIS Image of the Day, September 1, 2016. Today’s false color image shows part of the plains of Terra Sirenum near Sirenum Fossae. The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in mulitple ways to … Continue reading

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