HiRISE | Inverted Terrain in Eridania (ESP_043946

NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

Inverted Terrain in Eridania
ESP_043946_1415 Science Theme: Landscape Evolution

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The Eridania Basin is thought to have once contained a large sea. This image shows the Gorgonum Basin, which lies along the eastern edge of Eridania.

Along this eastern boundary, the terrain is being eroded away to expose light-toned altered material, including clays. There are also linear ridges and inverted channels. The channels and ridges are now inverted because they are composed of material that is harder than their surroundings (e.g., cements) so as erosion removes the softer materials, the harder rocks within the channels and ridges remain.

The ridges and channels are interpreted to have formed by water flow, either along the surface (channels) or in the subsurface (ridges), providing clues to the water history of Eridania.

Written by: Cathy Weitz (narration: Tre Gibbs) (10 February 2016)

Acquisition date
11 December 2015

Local Mars time
15:16

Latitude (centered)
-38.327°

Longitude (East)
194.042°

Spacecraft altitude
253.2 km (157.3 miles)

Original image scale range
51.3 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~154 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
50 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
9.7°

Phase angle
72.6°

Solar incidence angle
78°, with the Sun about 12° above the horizon

Solar longitude
80.2°, Northern Spring

For non-map projected images
North azimuth: 97°
Sub-solar azimuth: 52.6°

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   (152MB)

IRB color
map-projected   (94MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
Black and white
map-projected (70MB)
non-map           (68MB)

IRB color
map projected (23MB)
non-map           (72MB)

Merged IRB
map projected (134MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected (130MB)

RGB color
non map           (72MB)

BONUS
4K (TIFF)

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.