It turns out that Mars may also have a “fashion sense”. This applies to the classic pattern of the 80s — polka dots. NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft, which has been exploring the Red Planet from orbit for a long time, has taken an exciting photo of sand dunes with a noticeably rounded shape.
The MRO High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE) camera has previously captured several incredible dunes, including strange crescent-shaped formations.
“Sand dunes of many shapes and sizes are common on Mars. In this example, the dunes are almost perfectly circular, which is unusual,” wrote planetary geologist Alfred McEwen for the HiRISE column.
Mars is a rather dusty and windy place, which makes it an ideal planet for the formation of dunes. On closer inspection, it can be seen that these dunes are not perfect circles. They are still slightly asymmetrical, with angular surfaces at the southern ends. This indicates that sand tends to move south, but winds can be variable.
MRO captured the dunes at the end of November last year. Researchers of the HiRISE camera from the University of Arizona studied the territory to observe seasonal changes in the frost cover. This image shows the absence of frost in the landscape.
Such views of Mars may seem bizarre, but they demonstrate the connection between our two planets. There are also picturesque dunes on Earth that tell similar stories about the wind and the changing seasons. On both planets, we can find many incredible landscapes that captivate us with their unearthly spectacle.
Earlier we reported on how MRO discovered bizarre formations on the surface of Mars.
According to Hirise.
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