PIA11778: Gigas Sulci


Gigas Sulci

Caption:

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Map Projected Browse Image
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A sulcus (or sulci, plural) is defined as "subparallel furrows and ridges." This is a purely descriptive term for landforms that could have a variety of origins.

At this location is appears to be a graben (which is a fault-bounded valley) on a large scale, and locally (such as in this image) became a vent region for lava flows.

Background Info:

The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project and Mars Science Laboratory 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, Map
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2015-06-03
Date in Caption
Image Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA11778
Identifier PIA11778