layers
August 31, 2015
A piece of Mars: On the left is high ground, covered with dunes (or maybe they’re ripples) running from upper left to lower right. On the right is low ground, covered in deeply eroded dunes (ripples?) running almost from left […]
March 17, 2014
A piece of Mars: Bet you didn’t know there were ribbons on Mars. Long, sweeping, velvety lines, delicately frayed at the ends. These are actually ancient ripples, formed by a wind blowing from right to left. Stripes on the ripples […]
March 5, 2014
A piece of Mars: What is this big swoosh? It’s a big dark dune. The dark/light striping across it is found in all of the dunes in this area, but what is it? We’re probably seeing the inside of the […]
September 18, 2013
A piece of Mars: All that sand on Mars — where does it come from? It’s often hard to figure that out. Here is a rare case where we can see material shedding from a stack of bright layered rocks, […]
August 29, 2013
A piece of Mars: These C and S-shaped things were once dunes that marched across the scene (from upper left to lower right), formed from sand deposited by the wind. Then that sand somehow became cemented, locking the dunes in […]
July 3, 2013
A piece of Mars: Topography makes for great landscapes. It also funnels winds, forcing dunes and ripples along particular pathways. Here a cliff (high ground is yellow) has forced low-lying, dark ripples to migrate up a slope at the end […]
June 7, 2013
A piece of Mars: In ancient, wind-carved hills, a bluish ribbon of actively moving sand still winds its way. It is a remnant of a long-lived period of wind scour that shaped this landscape. (And it’s been stretched to look […]
December 31, 2012
A piece of Mars: Dunes often cannibalize each other, with new dunes forming from the sand in older dunes. Here the tan dunes have formed from the sand that made up the grayish blue dunes. Notice the banding on the […]
August 28, 2012
A piece of Gale crater, Mars: Here is a tiny piece of feathery terrain way up high on Mt. Sharp, the mountain that Curiosity will one day climb. This is a special unit of fine-grained material that has weathered into […]