Raindrops of Sand in Copernicus Crater
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Raindrops of Sand in Copernicus Crater
ESP_031221_1315  Science Theme: Aeolian Processes
The dark features here look like raindrops, but are actually sand dunes. This spot was targeted by CRISM because the dunes are rich in the mineral olivine.

Olivine-rich dunes are very rare on Earth, as olivine rapidly weathers to clays in a wet environment. There is also olivine-rich bedrock in the central peaks of Copernicus Crater on the Moon.

There is only a handful of very important scientists, like Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) who have craters named after them on both Mars and the Moon.

Written by: Alfred McEwen  (10 April 2013)
 
Acquisition date
25 March 2013

Local Mars time
14:37

Latitude (centered)
-48.104°

Longitude (East)
192.540°

Spacecraft altitude
252.6 km (157.0 miles)

Original image scale range
50.6 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~152 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
50 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
2.9°

Phase angle
42.2°

Solar incidence angle
39°, with the Sun about 51° above the horizon

Solar longitude
288.6°, Northern Winter

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  97°
Sub-solar azimuth:  29.8°
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   (125MB)

IRB color
map-projected   (71MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
Black and white
map-projected  (46MB)
non-map           (83MB)

IRB color
map projected  (15MB)
non-map           (78MB)

Merged IRB
map projected  (132MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected  (120MB)

RGB color
non map           (73MB)
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.