What appear to be waves of blue sand dusting the Martian landscape make the Red Planet seem even more alien than usual.
The striking coloring is not what it seems, however. To see true beauty, you need to look a little deeper than her makeup.
Imaged by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter earlier this year, the landscape was processed in what’s called “false color,” transforming subtly different wavelengths of light into dramatic palettes we can’t help but distinguish.
This enhancement looks spectacularly beautiful, it’s true, but it’s not done just to guess a little about Mars. Processing the data in this way brings out the contrast in the regions and features of the Martian surface, giving planetary scientists a really nifty tool for understanding the geological and atmospheric processes that take place far below altitude MRO orbital.
Dunes and transversal eolian ridges in the Gamboa crater on Mars. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)
The region imaged by MRO here is Gamboa Crater in the Martian Northern Hemisphere. Images with spectacular resolution, each pixel represents 25 centimeters (9.8 inches).
The smallest undulations at the top of many of the largest hills are separated from each other by only a few feet. At some point they merge to form small mounds that radiate outward from the swell of the dunes at distances of about 10 meters (30 feet) between them.
Bright blue in color, it is easier to make out the distinctive patterns of these medium-sized structures amidst a sea of waves and large sandy waves.
The region in the center of the crater where these features are seen. (NASA)
Known as transverse aeolian ridges, or TAR, these medium-sized structures consist of sand made up of very coarse particles. According to NASA, the enhanced colors of the large dunes and TARs suggest ongoing erosive processes.
“Megawaves appear blue-green on one side of an enhanced color cutout, while the TAR appears brighter blue on the other,” a spokesperson wrote on NASA’s website.
A closer zoom to the context of the ripples. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)
“This could be because TARs are actively moving under the force of the wind, cleaning up the darker dust and making them brighter. All these different features can indicate which way the wind was blowing when they formed. Being able to study this variety like this getting closer allows us to see their relationships and compare and contrast features to examine what they are made of and how they formed.”
Sometimes all you need is a small shift in perception to learn something new… and gain a little more appreciation for the wonders of the Universe.
You can download the above image in high resolution from the NASA website.