PIA03005: Huygens Wind Streak


Huygens Wind Streak

Caption:

19 September 2005
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows the results of wind action on the floor of the giant martian impact basin, Huygens. The large crater in this image has a wind streak on its lee side, pointing toward the lower right (southeast). Usually, a light-toned wind streak behind a crater on Mars will be composed of a thin veneer of dust that the wind was not able to erode because it was protected by the presence of the crater's raised rims. In this case, the streak is caused by something different -- by the fact that dark, windblown sand has not been able to accumulate behind the crater.

Location near : 13.0°S, 303.7°W
Image width : width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from : lower left
Season : Southern Spring

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Mars
System
Target Type Planet
Mission Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)
Instrument Host Mars Global Surveyor
Host Type Orbiter
Instrument Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC)
Detector
Extra Keywords Crater, Dust, Grayscale, Impact
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2005-09-19
Date in Caption 2005-09-19
Image Credit NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03005
Identifier PIA03005