Boulder Patterns
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Boulder Patterns
ESP_076499_1160  Science Theme: Landscape Evolution
This image of a crater floor at high southern latitude reveals many boulders ranging from 1 to 10 meters in diameter. The boulders are not distributed randomly or uniformly but are often arranged in linear or circular patterns.

Some of these patterns resemble the polygons often seen at high latitudes on Mars, which form from seasonal expansion and contraction of ground ice. Over many years, these processes might move boulders, concentrating then around the margins of polygons. If so, then the earlier polygons are no longer apparent at this location, but the boulder patterns persist.

Written by: Alfred McEwen (narration: Tre Gibbs)  (28 February 2023)
 
Acquisition date
21 November 2022

Local Mars time
14:43

Latitude (centered)
-63.697°

Longitude (East)
22.287°

Spacecraft altitude
250.8 km (155.9 miles)

Original image scale range
50.2 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~151 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
50 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
0.0°

Phase angle
63.4°

Solar incidence angle
63°, with the Sun about 27° above the horizon

Solar longitude
341.9°, Northern Winter

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  98°
Sub-solar azimuth:  51.1°
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   (383MB)

IRB color
map-projected   (215MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
Black and white
map-projected  (167MB)
non-map           (226MB)

IRB color
map projected  (85MB)
non-map           (220MB)

Merged IRB
map projected  (393MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected  (367MB)

RGB color
non map           (210MB)
BONUS
4K (TIFF)
8K (TIFF)
10K (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.