Enigmatic Pits and Rises in Noctis Labyrinthus
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Enigmatic Pits and Rises in Noctis Labyrinthus
ESP_028410_1710  Science Theme: Volcanic Processes
This image covers a depression within Noctis Labyrinthus, from rim to rim. Noctis Labyrinthus is a maze of troughs and depressions located at the head of Valles Marineris, the largest valley in the Solar System.

All these features are indicative of the crust of Mars having been pulled apart, exposing the deep interior of the planet. The depressions are also places where sediments of all sorts would tend to accumulate. When we see strange features on the floor of one of these depressions, it is not immediately clear if it is because of something from deep down being exposed or something relatively young having been deposited here.

The enhanced color part of the image suggests that the material on the floor of this particular depression is different than is seen in the walls of the depression.

Written by: Lazslo Kestay (narration: Tre Gibbs)  (26 September 2012)

This is a stereo pair with ESP_028766_1710.
 
Acquisition date
18 August 2012

Local Mars time
15:36

Latitude (centered)
-8.731°

Longitude (East)
253.583°

Spacecraft altitude
254.0 km (157.9 miles)

Original image scale range
51.6 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~155 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
50 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
7.7°

Phase angle
50.0°

Solar incidence angle
57°, with the Sun about 33° above the horizon

Solar longitude
156.9°, Northern Summer

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  97°
Sub-solar azimuth:  23.9°
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JP2
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JP2 EXTRAS
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non-map           (346MB)

IRB color
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non-map           (322MB)

Merged IRB
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Merged RGB
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RGB color
non map           (306MB)
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.