Google+ Mars Travel: colors on Mars
Showing posts with label colors on Mars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label colors on Mars. Show all posts

Colorful Crater on Mars

Check out these colorful images of a young, well preserved crater on Mars! When this 5km (3.1 mi) diameter crater was created it exposed a whole litany of minerals that may otherwise have been hidden under millions of years of dust build up and layered deposits.

The green (pictured bottom left) along the crater's south rim is representative of minerals like olivine and pyroxene, typically found in lava and underground magma flows. The yellow seen at the top of the image could be indicative of material changed by water, however, scientists also say it could just be a coating of dust. If the yellow material is just dust that could be indicative of a north blowing wind, which pushed the dust up against the south-facing north wall of the crater.

Click on the photo on the right to see the high resolution version from HiRISE. Click the bottom left photo to see the HiRISE caption



Mars Photo of the Day - 29 Jun 2012

Today's Image of Mars shows colorful layers in Nili Fossae that are thought to contain carbonates. On Earth carbonates are commonly formed by marine organisms! Could it be that there was once life in the waters of Mars? Maybe!

Despite this tantalizing possibility, most scientsts are more reserved in their assessments, believing instead that there is some currently unknown reason why the carbonates formed on Mars. However, the scientists do say that water was most likely involved in the formation of the carbonates.

One day we may send a mission to this area in Nili Fossae, but for now we can only speculate and wonder about the origins of the carbonates. Clicking on this image will take you to the original high resolution image from HiRISE. [See their caption for the image]


Mars Photo of the Day - Mar 31 2012

Today's Image of Mars shows some amazingly colorful minerals and rocks found in Nili Fossae by HiRISE. The stunning array of colored rocks are the ejecta from an impact that broke up and expelled already diverse types of rock, mixing them up even more. Each different color seen below is representative of a different mineral. 

There is a wealth of information about the past of the Martian climate that could be gathered by examining each of these minerals, so it may be that one day a mission is sent to Nili Fossae to do just that! Clicking on this image will take you to the original high resolution image from HiRISE. [See their caption for the image]


Mars Photo of the Day - Oct 6 2011

Today's Image of Mars is of a central peak in one of Mars' unnamed craters. These colorful rocks are the result of variations in mineral content due to water activity sometime in Mars' past. 

Who would have guessed that Mars could be home to such a beautiful array of colors?

Click the image to see the original captioned photo from HiRISE.