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Almost perfectly round sand dunes are a rarity even on Mars, where dunes come in all shapes and sizes. The HiRISE camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has now provided new images of these strange formations on Earth's neighboring planet, as reported by Space.com.
Round sand dunes on Mars taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter© NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
observe changes
Related video: Strange sight on Mars: Round sand dunes puzzle researchers (CameraOne)
MRO orbits Mars as a satellite at an altitude of 300 kilometers. Part of his job is to track the movement of dunes to draw conclusions about the planet's weather. In the same way, however, the movements of rock masses that accumulate on slopes on the planet are also observed. Piles and fissures in the rock show that the planet's surface is slowly but constantly changing.
Round sand dunes on Mars covered in frost© NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Round dunes with frost
In the case of the circular sand dunes, researchers at the University of Arizona, which operates the HiRISE camera, were also able to log the formation of frost. The aim is to determine how freezing and melting processes (mostly carbon dioxide) take place during a Martian year (687 Earth days). An earlier shot of the round dunes shows what they look like covered in frost.
