HiRISE | Sand Dunes in Spring (ESP_035033

NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

Sand Dunes in Spring
ESP_035033_2635 Science Theme: Seasonal Processes

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Mars’ northern-most sand dunes are beginning to emerge from their winter cover of seasonal carbon dioxide (dry) ice. Dark, bare south-facing slopes are soaking up the warmth of the sun.

The steep lee sides of the dunes are also ice-free along the crest, allowing sand to slide down the dune. Dark splotches are places where ice cracked earlier in spring, releasing sand. Soon the dunes will be completely bare and all signs of spring activity will be gone.

Written by: Candy Hansen (audio: Tre Gibbs) (5 March 2014)

Acquisition date
16 January 2014

Local Mars time
13:29

Latitude (centered)
83.480°

Longitude (East)
118.570°

Spacecraft altitude
320.7 km (199.3 miles)

Original image scale range
64.2 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~193 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
50 cm/pixel

Map projection
Polarstereographic

Emission angle
2.4°

Phase angle
61.4°

Solar incidence angle
60°, with the Sun about 30° above the horizon

Solar longitude
76.9°, Northern Spring

For non-map projected images
North azimuth: 116°
Sub-solar azimuth: 319.5°

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   (285MB)

IRB color
map-projected   (163MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
Black and white
map-projected (148MB)
non-map           (114MB)

IRB color
map projected (53MB)
non-map           (121MB)

Merged IRB
map projected (261MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected (232MB)

RGB color
non map           (105MB)

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.