polar
March 1, 2018
There’s so much going on in this 0.75×0.75 km (0.47×0.47 mi) image. You’re looking at a broad dune migrating toward the upper right. It’s early summer, but this is close enough to the north pole that some winter ice lingers […]
February 12, 2018
This is the upwind edge of a dune field (825×625 m, 0.51×0.39 mi). Winds blow down a cliff (offscreen) from the lower right, blowing sand toward the upper left. Elongated dunes have formed parallel to the resultant wind direction, only […]
January 18, 2018
A Piece of Mars: This 0.5×0.4 km (0.31×0.25 mi) scene shows two dunes near the north pole. The shape of the dunes indicates two main winds: one blowing left to right (which makes slip faces on the right side, one […]
January 8, 2018
A Piece of Mars: The north polar dunes in this 575×325 m (0.36×0.2 mi) scene are made of dark sand covered by bright winter frost (which will soon sublimate away, as this image was taken in late spring). To the […]
December 11, 2017
A Piece of Mars: Look at the alignment of the ~100 m dunes in this 713×750 m (0.44×0.47 mi) scene. How do dunes form in such straight lines? And why don’t they always do that? It’s likely that these dunes […]
July 31, 2017
A Piece of Mars: This 0.7×0.5 km (0.43x.31 mi) scene shows Mars’ giant yellow bubble wrap, with each “bubble” about 100 m across (seriously, don’t you want to pop them?). These are actually a type of dune called a “dome […]
June 5, 2017
A Piece of Mars: Having a bad day? You’re in good company with these dunes in this 0.96×0.48 km (0.6×0.3 mi) scene. The gray barchanoid dunes are covered in ripples, as the wind valiantly tries to push the sand to […]
April 3, 2017
A Piece of Mars: This 0.48×0.27 km (0.3×0.17 mi) scene shows a rotund barchan dune. Can you tell from looking at it where on Mars it might be? To me the most obvious feature are the bumpy piles at the […]
September 12, 2016
A Piece of Mars: This 480×270 m (0.3×0.17 mi) scene shows the contact between two very different terrains. On the left is a bright surface with polygonal cracks (characteristic of periglacial terrain – this is at a high latitude). On […]