HiRISE | Do Not Adjust Your Television Set (ESP_071481

NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

Do Not Adjust Your Television Set
ESP_071481_1795 Science Theme: Impact Processes

There are parts of Mars that are covered in a fluffy powder that is carved by the wind into odd patterns. The result is a surface that appears fuzzy even at HiRISE resolution, so don’t worry, HiRISE is *not* out of focus.

You can tell the camera is working just fine if you find one of the few small impact craters on this surface: those look nice and sharp. This example of fuzzy ground is from what Mars geologists have called the Medusae Fossae Formation. The origin of this material is still debated but most favor the idea that this is a thick pile of volcanic ash that has been blown here by the wind. The possible impact site in the full image might not last very long because the surface is being rapidly eroded.

Written by: Laszlo Kestay (8 December 2021)

Acquisition date
26 October 2021

Local Mars time
15:39

Latitude (centered)
-0.444°

Longitude (East)
211.394°

Spacecraft altitude
271.2 km (168.6 miles)

Original image scale range
27.3 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~82 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
25 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
8.5°

Phase angle
51.1°

Solar incidence angle
58°, with the Sun about 32° above the horizon

Solar longitude
118.1°, Northern Summer

For non-map projected images
North azimuth: 97°
Sub-solar azimuth: 32.6°

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   (503MB)

IRB color
map-projected   (277MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
Black and white
map-projected (207MB)
non-map           (339MB)

IRB color
map projected (69MB)
non-map           (234MB)

Merged IRB
map projected (135MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected (131MB)

RGB color
non map           (223MB)

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.