Possible New Gully Activity
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Possible New Gully Activity
ESP_021622_1095  Science Theme: Aeolian Processes
It’s easy to think of Mars as static, unchanging — a “geologically dead” planet, as is often mentioned. The first images taken at close approach to Martian surface came to us in 1965 from Mariner 4. Since then, many more images have revealed features that, except for becoming clearer and more detailed as cameras improve, seem much the same as they did more than forty years ago.

But while this apparent fixedness of the Martian surface might be true when compared to Earth, a closer look shows that slowly and on small scales, Mars remakes its image even today. HiRISE, with its ability to see meter-sized features, is the perfect instrument to capture these changes. It has caught avalanches (ESP_016423_2640) in action, seen new icy craters (ESP_016954_2245) shortly after their formation, and watched ephemeral dust devils (ESP_013545_1110) as they make their wandering tracks across the surface.

The dunes in this image, currently losing their winter coat of carbon dioxide frost, sport possibly active gullies on their southern edge. In other dune fields on Mars, HiRISE has recorded the transportation of large amounts of sand from gully alcoves to aprons, with new gullies forming over the course of a season. Currently researchers are conducting a campaign to both more closely monitor those dunes where new activity is known to occur, and to examine other dune fields for possible new activity.

The closer we look at Mars, the more fascinating processes - active in both past and present - we find to study.

Written by: Nicole Baugh  (23 March 2011)
 
Acquisition date
08 March 2011

Local Mars time
15:30

Latitude (centered)
-70.340°

Longitude (East)
178.197°

Spacecraft altitude
248.7 km (154.6 miles)

Original image scale range
25.0 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~75 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
25 cm/pixel

Map projection
Polarstereographic

Emission angle
5.9°

Phase angle
60.6°

Solar incidence angle
56°, with the Sun about 34° above the horizon

Solar longitude
250.3°, Northern Autumn

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  98°
Sub-solar azimuth:  34.5°
JPEG
Black and white
map projected  non-map

IRB color
map projected  non-map

Merged IRB
map projected

Merged RGB
map projected

RGB color
non-map projected

JP2
Black and white
map-projected   (988MB)

IRB color
map-projected   (363MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
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map-projected  (393MB)
non-map           (627MB)

IRB color
map projected  (164MB)
non-map           (477MB)

Merged IRB
map projected  (225MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected  (222MB)

RGB color
non map           (496MB)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
B&W label
Color label
Merged IRB label
Merged RGB label
EDR products
HiView

NB
IRB: infrared-red-blue
RGB: red-green-blue
About color products (PDF)

Black & white is 5 km across; enhanced color about 1 km
For scale, use JPEG/JP2 black & white map-projected images

USAGE POLICY
All of the images produced by HiRISE and accessible on this site are within the public domain: there are no restrictions on their usage by anyone in the public, including news or science organizations. We do ask for a credit line where possible:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

POSTSCRIPT
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.