Tag: sand dunes
Ancient Ridges
by CritterKeeper on Aug.19, 2010, under General
Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)
Looking like the closeup of an elephant’s hide, polygonal ridges form odd geometric patterns on Mars.
Martian Millipedes
by CritterKeeper on Mar.02, 2010, under Bugs, birds and other animals
NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Sand dunes resembling millipedes march across Mars in this image from the HiRISE camera aboard Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Streaking Dolphins
by CritterKeeper on Jan.22, 2010, under Water Creatures
Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Streaks in the dunes of Mars remind me of playful dolphins in this image from NASA’s HiRISE camera aboard Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. HiRISE began imaging Mars again just last month after technicians decided that whatever caused a series of computer glitches aboard the spacecraft would not threaten the mission. HiRISE and the other scientific instruments aboard MRO had gone into “safe-mode” in August. HiRISE is returning spectacular imagery now.
Martian Gingerbread Man
by CritterKeeper on Dec.21, 2009, under Eyes in the Sky
Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
The Gingerbread Man can run but he can’t hide, even on Mars. In this image from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s HiRISE camera, we find the shape of a cookie-cutout person in a Martian dunefield.
Centipede of Mars
by CritterKeeper on Dec.09, 2009, under Bugs, birds and other animals
Credit: NASA, JPL, and University of Arizona
Martian winds whip around this rock causing leg-like patterns in the sand.
The Fish of Barsoom
by CritterKeeper on Dec.02, 2009, under Water Creatures
Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
If you haven’t read the John Carter of Mars series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, you might not know that Barsoom is just another name for Mars. While there are no real fish on Mars (not enough liquid water or life found yet), these dunes sighted by NASA’s HiRISE camera aboard Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter look like an school of alien fish swimming across this Martian crater near the equator.
Dry Martian Skin
by CritterKeeper on Nov.10, 2009, under Bugs, birds and other animals
Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)
Winds blow across the surface of Mars kicking up dust, stirring dust devils and shaping dunes into fantastic shapes. This image from NASA’s HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter looks like the back of some dried out, desert animal. These scalloped dune fields form as jumbled wind patterns blow sand and dust into curved, overlapping features.
Martian Artist
by CritterKeeper on Oct.16, 2009, under General
Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Gray patterns swirl across the Martian dunes in this image from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s HIiRISE camera. Is it the work of a huge martian artist or perhaps some sort of body art?
Martian Mantis
by CritterKeeper on Aug.12, 2009, under Bugs, birds and other animals
Image Credit:NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
To me, this picture looks like a huge praying mantis crawling along a sand dune.
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