PIA05272: Martian Heat on the Rise


Martian Heat on the Rise

Caption:

This graph shows that the atmospheric temperatures above the surface of Mars at Gusev Crater, Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's landing site, fluctuate to a significant degree. The color red denotes warmer temperatures, while blue is cooler. The red and yellow waves of color represent thermals, or pockets of heat, which rise and fall across the surface. These data, acquired by the rover's miniature thermal emission spectrometer, help scientists understand how the bottom layer of air closest to the surface behaves and interacts with global winds.

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Mars
System
Target Type Planet
Mission Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
Instrument Host Spirit (MER-A)
Host Type Rover
Instrument Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES)
Detector
Extra Keywords Atmosphere, Color, Crater, Thermal
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2004-02-12
Date in Caption
Image Credit NASA/JPL/Cornell/ASU
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05272
Identifier PIA05272