Photo of the Day: Frosty Martian Dunes
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States (NASA) has released a beautiful view of the Martian landscape: the photo shows the sand dunes covered with ice.
The frame includes a five-kilometer crater in the northern part of the Red Planet. Its bottom is lined with bizarre structures, the edges of which are covered with frost. It is noted that the unusual pattern may have formed as a result of seasonal factors.
In the image, each pixel corresponds to 50 centimeters of the Martian surface. At the bottom of the crater, you can see a pattern of polygons with dark sides.
The image was transmitted to Earth from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) automated station. This probe was launched on August 12, 2005, and entered the orbit of the Red Planet in March 2006.
For the survey, the instrument HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment), which is included in the MRO equipment, was used. The HiRISE camera is a reflector telescope with an aperture of 0.5 m.
Below you can see the image in full resolution – click to enlarge: