Meandering Slope Streak
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Meandering Slope Streak
ESP_022991_2070  Science Theme: Mass Wasting Processes
This dusty region of Mars has many slope streaks, which are thought to form when dust cascades down a slope. In some cases it is possible to pinpoint what destabilized the slope and triggered the avalanche of dust, such as this slope streak which was triggered by a small impact event, or this slope streak, which appears to have been triggered by a dust devil.

Slope streaks generally begin at a point and widen downslope, but they are affected by the terrain and can be diverted, as shown here, where two slope streaks were diverted around a crater.

This observation shows a very unusual slope streak. Almost from its point of origination, the slope streak splits up into many fingers that appear to wind their way through the terrain, diverting around slight topographic highs. This unusual slope streak was first imaged by the Mars Orbiter Camera in the year 2000 (see the image here).

Written by: Anjani Polit  (27 July 2011)
 
Acquisition date
22 June 2011

Local Mars time
14:01

Latitude (centered)
26.868°

Longitude (East)
227.104°

Spacecraft altitude
285.3 km (177.3 miles)

Original image scale range
28.8 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~86 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
25 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
6.6°

Phase angle
58.0°

Solar incidence angle
53°, with the Sun about 37° above the horizon

Solar longitude
315.7°, Northern Winter

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  97°
Sub-solar azimuth:  312.7°
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   (568MB)

IRB color
map-projected   (260MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
Black and white
map-projected  (258MB)
non-map           (279MB)

IRB color
map projected  (79MB)
non-map           (207MB)

Merged IRB
map projected  (135MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected  (131MB)

RGB color
non map           (205MB)
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.