Tag Archives: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

HiRISE: Curving features at the source of Athabasca Valles

Posted on December 19, 2018 by rburnham

Curving features at the source of Athabasca Valles. These curving features are likely due to lava surges near the vent of Athabasca. Beautiful Mars series. [More at links]

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HiRISE: Chryse Chaos

Posted on December 18, 2018 by rburnham

Chryse Chaos. In planetary nomenclature, the term chaos means “distinctive area of broken terrain.” The general morphology of chaos is steep-sided mesas in close proximity. The interconnected channel forms erode, and mesas are created by erosion of the bounding channels. Beautiful … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: In Tikhonravov Crater

Posted on December 17, 2018 by rburnham

In Tikhonravov Crater. Tikhonravov is 386 kilometers in diameter and was named after Mikhail Tikhonravov, a Russian rocket scientist. It’s thought to have once held a giant lake that drained into the 4,500-kilometer long Naktong-Scamander-Mamers lake-chain system. Beautiful Mars series. … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: Just another quiet day on Mars

Posted on December 17, 2018 by rburnham

Just another quiet day on Mars. This cluster of [impact] craters is located, ironically, in Utopia Planitia. Beautiful Mars series. [More at links]

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HiRISE: Acheron Catena

Posted on December 14, 2018 by rburnham

Acheron Catena. Beautiful Mars series. [More at links]

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MARCI weather report, December 3-9, 2018

Posted on December 14, 2018 by rburnham

Dust lifting events were slightly more abundant for the northern hemisphere of Mars this past week. Near the beginning of the week, dust storm activity observed over Tempe Terra dipped southward towards Chryse Planitia by the following sol. By mid-week, … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: InSight lander on Mars

Posted on December 13, 2018 by rburnham

This is a HiRISE image of the NASA InSight lander, plus other pieces of hardware on Mars after its successful landing on 26 November 2018.It looks like the heat shield (upper right) has its dark outside facing down, since it … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: Eastern slope of Asimov Crater’s central pit

Posted on December 13, 2018 by rburnham

Asimov is an 84-kilometer diameter crater located in the southern ancient highlands of Mars. It is distinguished from other craters in this region in that it contains both a ring-depression just within the crater rim and a pit near the … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: Slope streaking

Posted on December 12, 2018 by rburnham

We have been monitoring the slope streaks on this hill for several years. There are definitive changes between this September 2018 image and a previous one in December 2016. Earlier streaks have since faded and new, darker streaks are visible. … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: The enduring charm of spiders

Posted on December 11, 2018 by rburnham

Araneiform terrain (colloquially: spider-like terrain) is located in the south polar region of Mars and evolves in appearance over the spring and summer. In the season shown here, the thin bright lines on the surface (the spider legs) are troughs … Continue reading →

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