Strange terrain on the eastern floor of Gale Crater
Click for full image. For the inset, go here.
Though today’s cool image on the right, rotated, cropped, and reduced to post here, shows a small section on the floor of 96-mile-wide Gale Crater where Curiosity has been roving for the past decade, this picture looks at a different place. Curiosity landed in the northwest quadrant of the crater, and has been climbing the western slopes of Mount Sharp, which fills much of the crater’s interior. Today’s image looks at the crater’s floor on the east side of Mount Sharp.
The picture was taken on September 30, 2022 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The dark areas are likely dune seas, while the golden section near the top of the color strip is likely dust, though that is not certain. (This bright yellow is unusual for this particular color filter.) The greenish color suggests coarser materials, such as larger boulders and rocks, though this is also not certain.
The inset zooms into some unusual polygon lines that cut across the dunes and cratered terrain. Such lines suggest that once, in the far past, the ground here was wet. When it dried out (being now in the very dry equatorial regions of Mars) it formed these cracks, similar in nature to the polygon cracks one sees in drying mud on Earth. Since the data from Curiosity when it was on the crater floor also suggests a lake once existed inside the crater, these cracks add weight to that conclusion.
The overview map below places Gale Crater in the larger context of Mars.
The red dot in Gale Crater, on the left edge of the map, marks Curiosity. The white dot in the crater indicates the location of today’s cool image.
The relatively nearness of the Medusae Fossae Formation, Mars’ largest deposit of volcanic ash and considered the source of most of the red planet’s dust, helps explain the many dunes and dune seas in this picture. Any dust from Medusae that is blown into the crater will likely accumulate there, trapped by the crater’s high rims and the giant mountain that fills most of the crater.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Click for full image. For the inset, go here.
Though today’s cool image on the right, rotated, cropped, and reduced to post here, shows a small section on the floor of 96-mile-wide Gale Crater where Curiosity has been roving for the past decade, this picture looks at a different place. Curiosity landed in the northwest quadrant of the crater, and has been climbing the western slopes of Mount Sharp, which fills much of the crater’s interior. Today’s image looks at the crater’s floor on the east side of Mount Sharp.
The picture was taken on September 30, 2022 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The dark areas are likely dune seas, while the golden section near the top of the color strip is likely dust, though that is not certain. (This bright yellow is unusual for this particular color filter.) The greenish color suggests coarser materials, such as larger boulders and rocks, though this is also not certain.
The inset zooms into some unusual polygon lines that cut across the dunes and cratered terrain. Such lines suggest that once, in the far past, the ground here was wet. When it dried out (being now in the very dry equatorial regions of Mars) it formed these cracks, similar in nature to the polygon cracks one sees in drying mud on Earth. Since the data from Curiosity when it was on the crater floor also suggests a lake once existed inside the crater, these cracks add weight to that conclusion.
The overview map below places Gale Crater in the larger context of Mars.
The red dot in Gale Crater, on the left edge of the map, marks Curiosity. The white dot in the crater indicates the location of today’s cool image.
The relatively nearness of the Medusae Fossae Formation, Mars’ largest deposit of volcanic ash and considered the source of most of the red planet’s dust, helps explain the many dunes and dune seas in this picture. Any dust from Medusae that is blown into the crater will likely accumulate there, trapped by the crater’s high rims and the giant mountain that fills most of the crater.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Readers: the rules for commenting!
No registration is required. I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.
However, name-calling and obscenities will not be tolerated. First time offenders who are new to the site will be warned. Second time offenders or first time offenders who have been here awhile will be suspended for a week. After that, I will ban you. Period.
Note also that first time commenters as well as any comment with more than one link will be placed in moderation for my approval. Be patient, I will get to it.