Winter in Hellas Basin

Scaled Image

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/ASU

About this image

This image was collected during southern winter when the usually cloudy Hellas Basin is relatively free from clouds. Even though there is little cloud cover, the atmosphere is still much thicker due to the deeper basin compared to elsewhere on Mars, making image details not as crisp as when viewed through thinner atmosphere. In the center of the image are several dark streaks which originate from the side of a higher standing butte. The dark material is likely being eroded from a single layer within the cliff face. Wind has moved some of the eroded dark material to form the streaks.

Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images. 

Context

Image ID: 
V03468003 (View data in Mars Image Explorer)
-39.4578
82.7873
3468
2002-09-25 17:53
Mon, 2002-10-07
VIS
1024 pixels (17 km)
3648 pixels (62 km)
0.01704 km/pixel
0.017164 km/pixel

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