HiRISE | Student Image of the Week: Layering Near Southern Polar Crater (PSP_003545

NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Student Image of the Week: Layering Near Southern Polar Crater
PSP_003545_0995 Science Theme: Fluvial Processes

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This image was suggested by Vishal Bhalerao, a mechanical engineering student, from the K.K. Wagh Institute of Engineering Education in Maharashtra, India.

The image captures a small crater in the southern hemisphere near the south pole.

Much of the ground surface is covered by polygonal fractures, common in high-latitude areas. This suggests there is (or was) ice just below the surface at this location. There are also yardangs (long landforms sculpted by the wind) and dunes within the crater suggesting aeolian activity. Aeolian (wind-driven) processes are currently very active on the surface of Mars.

The dark and light patches at the top of the image are probably related to sublimation of carbon dioxide ice at this location.Written by: Alix Davatzes (HiRISE challenge caption) (24 November 2007)

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Acquisition date:	29 April 2007	Local Mars time:	4:32 PM
Latitude (centered):	-80.6 degrees	Longitude (East):	167.1 degrees
Range to target site:	247.0 km (154.4 miles)	Original image scale range:	24.7 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~74 cm across are resolved
Map projected scale:	25 cm/pixel	Map projection:	POLAR STEREOGRAPHIC
Emission angle:	0.5 degrees	Phase angle:	68.6 degrees
Solar incidence angle:	68 degrees, with the Sun about 22 degrees above the horizon	Solar longitude:	228.4 degrees, Northern Autumn
For non-map projected products:
North azimuth:	111 degrees	Sub-solar azimuth:	33.5 degrees
For map-projected products
North azimuth:	77.11 degrees	Sub solar azimuth:	5.793 degrees

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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: Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Postscript
For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. 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. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona. The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey’s ISIS3 software.