Sand Dunes in Rabe Crater
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Sand Dunes in Rabe Crater
PSP_002824_1355  Science Theme: Aeolian Processes
This observation shows a sand dune field in Rabe Crater. Rabe Crater is approximately 100 kilometers in diameter and is located in the Southern highlands of Mars.

The dune field within the crater has dimensions of roughly 50 x 35 kilometers, making it one of the largest dune fields in the region. It is composed mostly of barchanoid and transverse dunes that formed from uni-directional winds from the Southeast. The sand grains are believed to be basalt, a common volcanic rock, that eroded from sedimentary units (made of eroded lava) exposed in a pit on the floor of Rabe Crater.

The dark toned streaks seen on the dune slip face in the subimage are believed to form from grain-flow events, or sand avalanches, that occur when wind carries sand grains over the crest of the dune and deposits them on the slip face oversteepening the slope. When compared with older images, the identification of new streaks in HiRISE images could indicate that these dunes are still active today. Also visible in the subimage are smaller secondary dunes superimposed on the surface of the large dunes.



Written by: Maria Banks  (30 May 2007)

This is a stereo pair with PSP_003325_1355.
 
Acquisition date
04 March 2007

Local Mars time
15:50

Latitude (centered)
-43.995°

Longitude (East)
34.531°

Spacecraft altitude
251.9 km (156.5 miles)

Original image scale range
25.3 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~76 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
25 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
5.2°

Phase angle
67.7°

Solar incidence angle
63°, with the Sun about 27° above the horizon

Solar longitude
194.2°, Northern Autumn

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  97°
Sub-solar azimuth:  25.3°
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   (1084MB)

IRB color
map-projected   (564MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
Black and white
map-projected  (449MB)
non-map           (697MB)

IRB color
map projected  (175MB)
non-map           (556MB)

Merged IRB
map projected  (240MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected  (243MB)

RGB color
non map           (517MB)
ANAGLYPHS
Map-projected, reduced-resolution
Full resolution JP2 download
Anaglyph details page

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.