08/01 18:32
Ripples of blue sand washed over the landscape of Mars, making the Red Planet look even stranger than usual.
Filmed by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter earlier this year, the scene has been treated with a so-called “false color”, transforming distinct wavelengths of light into stunning paintings we can’t help but distinguish.
This optimization looks amazingly beautiful, but it’s not just about stimulating Mars a bit. Processing the data in this way highlights the contrast in regions and features on the surface of Mars, giving planetary scientists a really great tool for understanding geological and atmospheric processes that occur far beyond MRO’s orbital altitude.
The region imaged by MRO is called the Gamboa Crater in the northern hemisphere of Mars, and each pixel represents 25 centimeters (9.8 in).
The smallest ripples on top of many large hills are separated from each other by only a few feet, and at some point, they merge to form small ridges radiating outward from dunes at distances of about 10 meters (30 feet).
The distinctive patterns of these medium-sized structures are easy to distinguish in a sea of large sandy waves and ripples, in bright blue.
These medium-sized structures, known as aeolian ridges, consist of sand made up of very coarse particles. According to NASA, the enhanced colors of the large sand dunes and country assessment reports indicate ongoing erosion processes.
A spokesperson wrote on the NASA website: “Massive ripples appear blue and green on one side of the enhanced color segment, while TAR appears in a brighter blue color on the other side.
This may be because the TAR is actively moving under the force of the wind, removing the dark dust and making it brighter. And all these different features can indicate the way the wind was blowing when it was formed.”