HiRISE | Spring in Inca City IV (ESP_038022

NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

Spring in Inca City IV
ESP_038022_0985 Science Theme: Seasonal Processes

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At certain times in spring, fans take on a gray or blue appearance. This is the time in Inca City when this phenomenon happens.

On the ridge at the top of the image fans have lengthened and now look more gray than the blotches on the araneiforms. At the bottom of the image they are distinctly blue in color.

Two theories have been suggested: perhaps fine particles sink into the seasonal layer of ice so they no longer appear dark. Or, maybe the gas that is released from under the ice condenses and falls to the surface as a bright fresh layer of frost. It is quite likely that both of these theories are correct.

Written by: Candy Hansen (13 November 2014)

Acquisition date
06 September 2014

Local Mars time
17:05

Latitude (centered)
-81.445°

Longitude (East)
295.976°

Spacecraft altitude
246.9 km (153.4 miles)

Original image scale range
49.4 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~148 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
50 cm/pixel

Map projection
Polarstereographic

Emission angle
2.2°

Phase angle
81.5°

Solar incidence angle
83°, with the Sun about 7° above the horizon

Solar longitude
191.2°, Northern Autumn

For non-map projected images
North azimuth: 110°
Sub-solar azimuth: 32.4°

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map-projected   (386MB)

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map-projected   (231MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
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non-map           (244MB)

IRB color
map projected (89MB)
non-map           (216MB)

Merged IRB
map projected (359MB)

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map-projected (346MB)

RGB color
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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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.