Monthly Archives: September 2018

HiRISE: Crazy terrain in Utopia

Posted on September 28, 2018 by rburnham

That crazy terrain. This is the floor of a crater in Utopia Planitia. Beautiful Mars series. [More at links]

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THEMIS: Over the summit of Pavonis Mons

Posted on September 28, 2018 by rburnham

THEMIS Image of the Day, September 28, 2018. Today’s VIS image crosses the flanks and summit of Pavonis Mons. Calderas are down-dropped areas which collapse when lava inside the volcano withdraws, removing its support for the heavy rock layers above. … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: Knobs on the rim of a circular feature

Posted on September 28, 2018 by rburnham

Knobs on the rim of a circular feature. And there might be clays on this cluster of knobs which as a unit, look very interesting. Beautiful Mars series. [More at links]

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Tiny motor on Curiosity detected onset of global dust storm at Gale Crater

Posted on September 27, 2018 by rburnham

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) provided the earliest insights on May 30 when it observed an accumulation of dust in the atmosphere near Perseverance Valley, where NASA’s Opportunity rover is exploring. The increasingly hazy storm, the biggest since 2007, forced … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: Intricate CO2 frost patterns

Posted on September 27, 2018 by rburnham

This polar terrain is cut by an intricate pattern of channels. Carbon dioxide frost in the channels make them bright at this time of year. [More at link]

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THEMIS: Landslide in Mutch Crater

Posted on September 27, 2018 by rburnham

THEMIS Image of the Day, September 27, 2018. Today’s image shows part of Mutch Crater in Xanthe Terra. At the bottom of the image, visible in warm tones, is a short section of the crater’s southern rim. Note the landslide … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: Clay outcrop near Maja Valles

Posted on September 26, 2018 by rburnham

A clay outcrop near Maja Valles. Maja Valles is a large, ancient outflow channel in the Lunae Palus quadrangle on Mars. The name is a Nepali word for “Mars”, and parts of the system have been partially buried by thin volcanic … Continue reading →

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MARCI weather report: September 17-23, 2018

Posted on September 26, 2018 by rburnham

During the past week, dusty conditions continued along the retreating seasonal south polar ice cap edge. Sites of activity included Aonia, southern Sirenum, and southwest of Hellas — near the ‘Mountains of Mitchel.’ Looking further northward, dust lifting was relatively … Continue reading →

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Early Mars: Right ingredients for subsurface life

Posted on September 26, 2018 by rburnham

A new study shows that the breakdown of water molecules trapped in ancient Martian rocks likely produced enough chemical energy to sustain microorganisms for hundreds of millions of years beneath the Red Planet’s surface. (…) “We showed, based on basic … Continue reading →

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THEMIS: Sands of Tombaugh Crater

Posted on September 26, 2018 by rburnham

THEMIS Image of the Day, September 26, 2018. Tombaugh Crater is in the center of this VIS image. Dark blue tones are basaltic sands of the floor of the crater. The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from … Continue reading →

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