Cyane Fossae Pits
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Cyane Fossae Pits
PSP_010345_2150  Science Theme: Tectonic Processes
This image shows two related features: a trough with a succession of pits in the center. The trough, formed by the roughly straight scarps trending NW-SE, is a graben, a tectonic feature formed when a block slides downwards along two faults facing each other. Graben are found in many places on Earth, with some of the best-known examples in the canyon lands area of southern Utah.

A succession of pit craters is found in the center of the graben. These are rimless pits, roughly circular, which form via collapse. On both Earth and Mars, they are commonly found in volcanic terrains. They may be due to collapse into void space left behind after propagation of a lava-filled dike.

An interesting aspect of this site is that some of the pit craters are nearly filled with some mantling material, while others have relatively smooth floors and appear empty. Since this material may have been deposited regionally, this suggests that the pits formed at different times.



Written by: Colin Dundas  (17 December 2008)
 
Acquisition date
10 October 2008

Local Mars time
15:30

Latitude (centered)
34.425°

Longitude (East)
239.013°

Spacecraft altitude
285.7 km (177.6 miles)

Original image scale range
57.2 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~172 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
50 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
0.3°

Phase angle
50.5°

Solar incidence angle
50°, with the Sun about 40° above the horizon

Solar longitude
139.8°, Northern Summer

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  97°
Sub-solar azimuth:  358.3°
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EDR products
HiView

NB
IRB: infrared-red-blue
RGB: red-green-blue
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Black & white is 5 km across; enhanced color about 1 km
For scale, use JPEG/JP2 black & white map-projected images

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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.