HiRISE | Meander and Tributary of Scamander Vallis (ESP_011289

NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Meander and Tributary of Scamander Vallis
ESP_011289_1950 Science Theme: Fluvial Processes

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Scamander Vallis is a winding, degraded valley network in the northern hemisphere of Mars. Visible here are several bends, or meanders, in the valley. The bottom of the valley contains dunes, and the scene is speckled with small impact craters.

The walls of the valley have slope streaks ranging in color from dark to light. Slope streaks are proposed to form by avalanching dust and to evolve by fading or brightening over time. Thus, the slope streaks in Scamander Vallis likely formed at different times.

Across the center of image, there are some dark streaks that go across the valley walls; these are probably dust devil tracks. As dust devils (mini wind funnels) move across the surface, they stir up dust and leave behind dark trails.

Written by: Kelly Kolb (11 February 2009)

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Acquisition date:	23 December 2008	Local Mars time:	3:48 PM
Latitude (centered):	14.6 degrees	Longitude (East):	29.0 degrees
Range to target site:	278.2 km (173.9 miles)	Original image scale range:	55.7 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~167 cm across are resolved
Map projected scale:	50 cm/pixel and North is up	Map projection:	EQUIRECTANGULAR
Emission angle:	5.6 degrees	Phase angle:	52.4 degrees
Solar incidence angle:	58 degrees, with the Sun about 32 degrees above the horizon	Solar longitude:	178.5 degrees, Northern Summer
For non-map projected products:
North azimuth:	97 degrees	Sub-solar azimuth:	357.3 degrees
For map-projected products
North azimuth:	270 degrees	Sub solar azimuth:	171.5 degrees

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For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. 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. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona. The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey’s ISIS3 software.