Tag Archives: water-related minerals

HiRISE: The hills in Juventae Chasma

This image captures some of the geologic diversity of Mars. There are hills of ancient terrains on the floor of Juventae Chasma, surrounded by younger sediments, including dark sand sheets and dunes that are likely active today. The hills are … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Clays in the Eridania Basin

This colorful image shows clays within the Eridania basin region. Many scientists using orbital data have proposed that a large lake may have once existed here during the Late Noachian through Early Hesperian time periods, and then much of the … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Uplifted blocks of light-toned layered deposits

Aram Chaos lies within a 280 kilometer-diameter ancient impact crater in the Southern Highlands of Mars. Uplifted blocks of light-toned layers, composed largely of the iron-oxide hematite and water-altered silicates, indicate that this crater once held a lake. Scientists suggest … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Possible aqueous sediments in Hellas Planitia

Possible aqueous sediments in Hellas Planitia. Beautiful Mars series.

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HiRISE: Oblique view of uplifted rocks

This image shows part of the central uplifted region of an impact crater more than 50 kilometers wide. That means that the bedrock has been raised from a depth of about 5 kilometers, exposing ancient materials. The warm (yellowish-reddish) colors … Continue reading

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HiRISE: The plains are not plain

This image covers some of the plains south of Capri Chasma in eastern Valles Marineris. Where the aeolian (wind-blown) sedimentary cover has been stripped away, we see diverse colors indicative of of a variety of altered minerals formed in Mars’ … Continue reading

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Ancient watery environments at Endeavour Crater

A new paper in Science from a team led by Raymond Arvidson (Washington University) and Steven Squyres (Cornell University) reports on water-related minerals found by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, which reached Endeavour Crater in August 2011. The paper is … Continue reading

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