And according to the “RT” website, the University of Arizona, which supervises the operation of the HiRise camera used to capture the image, indicated in a statement that the semi-circular sand dunes have steep slopes at the southern ends, and this indicates that the sand is generally moving to the south, although That the Martian winds may be variable.
The image was taken on November 22, 2022, at a latitude of 42.505 degrees and a longitude of 67.076 degrees, and this comes as part of a series of images taken by the HiRise camera orbiting Mars aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft.
Planetary geologist Alfred McEwen noted, “Sand dunes of various shapes and sizes are many and common on Mars. In this example, the nearly circular dunes are unusual.”
“It is still somewhat asymmetric, with steep slopes at the southern ends. This indicates that the sands are generally moving south, while the winds may be variable,” McQueen added.
The image of the semi-circular sand dunes was taken while the orbiter was regarding 300 kilometers above the surface of Mars. Each pixel in the image represents 25 cm (9.8 in).
The image, which was shared recently, is part of a series of images to monitor how frost disappears in late winter, as this observation appears to be frost-free.
This region is just one of 60 locations on Mars monitored by HiRise, and the set of images is used to monitor how frost recedes and melts on Mars as the Red Planet reaches the end of winter.
Collecting repeated observations of the sand dunes over the course of a Martian year (which takes 687 Earth days) allowed planetary scientists to monitor how fast the dunes were moving.
This showed that dunes from the equator to the poles are advancing at rates of up to 3.3 feet (1 meter) per Martian year.
The camera recorded a variety of Martian sand dunes of an impressive array of sizes and shapes, which reveals a lot regarding weather conditions on the Red Planet.
