Icy Martian
dunes contain mysterious dark streaks in this south polar image taken by the Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).
The frost
is likely an accumulation of frozen water and carbon dioxide ice. But the
small, dark streaks might have resulted from avalanches of sand or patches of
coarse-grained ice clear enough for the dark material below the ice to become
visible. The streaks, running thousands of feet long, follow the local
topographical patterns of the Martian landscape and do not appear to have a chaotic
pattern of distribution. They are likely related to the dark spots scattered
throughout the image, which could have resulted from ice evaporation leaving
behind dust formerly contained in the ice.
The site
for the image was chosen by astronomy students from Budapest, Hungary, through a NASA program that invites the public to help
select imaging targets on Mars.
–NASA/JPL-Caltech/UofA/High-Resolution Imaging
Science Experiment and SPACE.com Staff
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UofA/High-Resolution
Imaging Science Experiment
Return each weekday for a new SPACE.com Image of the Day.
| 
