PIA20736: Glowing Gullies in Kaiser Crater Dunes


Glowing Gullies in Kaiser Crater Dunes

Caption:

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Map Projected Browse Image
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The giant sand dunes in Kaiser Crater experience gully erosion of the steep slip faces every year in late winter as the sun warms these slopes and seasonal carbon dioxide frost sublimates (meaning it changes from a solid to gas).

Some of these gullies produce a variety of colors that are highlighted on the west-facing (illuminated) slopes, where the gullies appear to be glowing in the winter light.

Background Info:

The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Mars
System
Target Type Planet
Mission Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)
Instrument Host Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Curiosity Rover
Host Type Orbiter Rover
Instrument High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE)
Detector
Extra Keywords Color, Crater, Dune, Map
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2016-06-29
Date in Caption
Image Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20736
Identifier PIA20736