Old ripples
25 Apr 2016, 18:30 UTC
HiRISE ESP_017766_1535, NASA/JPL/Univ. of Arizona
(200 words excerpt, click title or image to see full post)
A Piece of Mars: In this 480×270 m scene (0.3×0.17 mi), there are a bunch of “ripples” spaced by 5-20 m (the quotes are because we don’t know yet if these are ripples, dunes, or some other new kind of bedform). They’re old: they’re eroded by winds blowing from the bottom to the top of the frame (exposing layers on the upwind side), and if you look carefully you’ll see some craters superposed on them. The craters don’t have any obvious ejecta blankets, which suggests they’re not that young either, so there’s been enough time for the ejecta to erode away. (HiRISE ESP_017766_1535, NASA/JPL/Univ. of Arizona)
