Light-Toned Units and Dunes in Meridiani Planum
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Light-Toned Units and Dunes in Meridiani Planum
ESP_022208_1800  Science Theme: Sedimentary/Layering Processes
Located in a small unnamed crater just west of Schiaparelli impact crater, this observation shows a portion of the crater’s western slope and floor.

Previously imaged by Mars Orbiter Camera, this area was thought to possibly contain layered deposits on the crater wall. However, at HiRISE resolution, the floor is seen to consist of a diversity of landforms and terrain units.

Fractured light-toned units and a variety of dune fields are ubiquitous on the crater floor. Isolated flat-topped mesas are scattered throughout. Rectilinear and other intriguing dune forms near the crater wall suggest a variety of wind regimes have operated in this region.

Written by: Ginny Gulick  (15 June 2011)
 
Acquisition date
22 April 2011

Local Mars time
14:37

Latitude (centered)
-0.057°

Longitude (East)
8.760°

Spacecraft altitude
269.6 km (167.6 miles)

Original image scale range
54.4 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~163 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
50 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
6.9°

Phase angle
39.6°

Solar incidence angle
46°, with the Sun about 44° above the horizon

Solar longitude
279.1°, Northern Winter

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  97°
Sub-solar azimuth:  329.9°
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RGB: red-green-blue
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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.