TAR
May 3, 2022
May 3, 2022 I don’t typically have much time for these posts anymore. The pandemic seems to have changed everything. But sometimes I need to remind myself why I do this for a living. Going to look through Mars’ gorgeous […]
June 15, 2020
June 15, 2020 Utopia Planitia is an ancient plain in the northern lowlands of Mars, thought to be made of volcanic rocks that were buried, more than 3 billion years ago, by sediments carried by water coming down from the […]
March 25, 2020
March 25, 2020 It’s been an interesting few weeks. Like many folks, I’m trying to work from home while keeping my kids busy. I’m fortunate to have a job that allows me to work at home, so I can continue […]
August 5, 2019
August 5, 2019 It’s been a while since I posted anything. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I’m involved in so many projects that many things I love are being shoved aside for whatever has to be dealt […]
March 4, 2019
On Earth, really old windblown dunes don’t usually survive long enough to become part of the geologic rock record. Dunes are made of unconsolidated sand, which is easily eroded by just about anything, so it takes special circumstances to keep […]
October 18, 2018
Right now, the Fourth Landing Site Workshop for the Mars 2020 rover mission is happening. It’s the last one, and in a few hours the scientists attending the workshop will vote on which of four sites they think the rover […]
April 30, 2018
Some windblown dunes on Mars are just beyond words. Take these beasts in this 0.95×0.95 km (0.59×0.59 mi) scene: These are a peculiar type of bedform called a transverse aeolian ridge, or TAR for short, with a spacing of about […]
April 23, 2018
The wind on Mars is an artist, or at least it tries really hard to be one. It flutters up and down mountains, winding along valleys, dragging its wings in the sand and building up really amazing structures that could […]
April 16, 2018
Over the years, many things have flowed across the surface of Mars: lava, ice, water, and wind. Two things have flowed in this image (the view is 0.75×0.6 km or 0.47×0.37 mi): Image credit: HiRISE ESP_026541_1840, NASA/JPL/Univ. of Arizona If […]