The vast Martian plains of lava
Cool image time! The picture to the right, rotated, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on January 31, 2024 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Labeled “Lava Embaying Highlands Ridge”, it shows an alcove along a ridgeline that appears filled with material, in this case solid lava.
If you look closely at the ridgeline, you can see several dark streaks on its southern slopes. These streaks could be one of two unique Martian features that remain unexplained. They could be slope streaks, which occur randomly through the year and fade with time, or recurring slope lineae, which occur seasonally at the same locations. In either case, though the streaks look like avalanches, they don’t change the topography, have no debris piles at their base, and even sometimes flow uphill for short lengths. Though there are a number of theories for their formation, many involving dust, none has been accepted as confirmed.
This location and its lava however are the stars of this picture, for a number of reasons, all revealed by the overview map below.
» Read more
Cool image time! The picture to the right, rotated, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on January 31, 2024 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Labeled “Lava Embaying Highlands Ridge”, it shows an alcove along a ridgeline that appears filled with material, in this case solid lava.
If you look closely at the ridgeline, you can see several dark streaks on its southern slopes. These streaks could be one of two unique Martian features that remain unexplained. They could be slope streaks, which occur randomly through the year and fade with time, or recurring slope lineae, which occur seasonally at the same locations. In either case, though the streaks look like avalanches, they don’t change the topography, have no debris piles at their base, and even sometimes flow uphill for short lengths. Though there are a number of theories for their formation, many involving dust, none has been accepted as confirmed.
This location and its lava however are the stars of this picture, for a number of reasons, all revealed by the overview map below.
» Read more