Dunes Flying in Formation
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Dunes Flying in Formation
ESP_034815_2035  Science Theme: Aeolian Processes
Migratory birds and military aircraft—like during World War II—often fly in a V-shaped formation. The “V” formation greatly boosts the efficiency and range of flying birds, because all except the first fly in the upward motion of air--called upwash--from the wingtip vortices of the bird ahead.

In this image of a dune field in a large crater near Mawrth Vallis, some of the dunes appear to be in formation. For dune fields, the spacing of individual dunes is a function of sand supply, wind speed, and topography.

Written by: Alfred McEwen (audio: Tre Gibbs)  (12 February 2014)
 
Acquisition date
30 December 2013

Local Mars time
15:03

Latitude (centered)
23.190°

Longitude (East)
339.585°

Spacecraft altitude
287.3 km (178.6 miles)

Original image scale range
28.9 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~87 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
25 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
4.9°

Phase angle
46.5°

Solar incidence angle
42°, with the Sun about 48° above the horizon

Solar longitude
69.5°, Northern Spring

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  97°
Sub-solar azimuth:  16.1°
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Black & white is 5 km across; enhanced color about 1 km
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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:
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.