HiPOD: Tuesday, 28 February 2023
Boulder Patterns

Boulder Patterns
This image of a crater floor at high southern latitude reveals many boulders ranging from 1 to 10 meters in diameter. The boulders are not distributed randomly or uniformly but are often arranged in linear or circular patterns.

Some of these patterns resemble the polygons often seen at high latitudes on Mars, which form from seasonal expansion and contraction of ground ice. Over many years, these processes might move boulders, concentrating then around the margins of polygons. If so, then the earlier polygons are no longer apparent at this location, but the boulder patterns persist.

ID: ESP_076499_1160
date: 21 November 2022
altitude: 251 km

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_076499_1160
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science #NASA

Black & white is less than 5 km across; enhanced color is less than 1 km. For full observation details, visit the ID link.