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February 10, 2014
A piece of Mars: Yep, this is really Mars. It’s a tiny bit (600×450 m) of the southwestern side of a large dune in the southern midlatitudes. The dark lines are furrows that are thought to be carved by blocks […]
January 16, 2014
A piece of Mars: On martian dunes it’s all about lines, lines, lines. The prominent wavy ones on the left are thought to be erosional scars left by sliding blocks of dry ice. The little fingerprint-like lines are ripples, like […]
December 27, 2013
A piece of Mars: A single dune sits on the surface of Mars, not too far from the north pole. It’s early spring, but this far north the dune is still covered in white CO2 frost (as well as a […]
September 30, 2013
A piece of Mars: These sharp-tipped hills are dunes near the north pole of Mars. At the height of summer they’re lovely dark dunes, but because it’s just barely spring here they’re still covered in white frost (mostly CO2 ice, […]
August 21, 2013
A piece of Mars: Abstract modern art? No, these are north polar dunes almost completely covered in winter frost (mostly CO2 ice). It’s early spring in this image, and the dark sand underneath the ice is only just beginning to […]
July 8, 2013
A piece of Mars: The blue structures are rippled dunes found not far from the south polar cap of Mars. They are probably partially active, enough to create the fine ripples found on and between the dunes. But the steeper […]
April 16, 2013
A piece of Mars: Is it modern art? Well maybe it looks like it from a distance. Up close, this is reality on Mars. These are dark dunes in the southern hemisphere, awaking from a long hibernation beneath bright winter […]
March 22, 2013
A piece of Mars: Dunes near the north and south poles get cold in the winter, just like they do on Earth. Except on Mars instead of H2O ice, it’s a mix of CO2 and H2O ice (mostly CO2). In […]