|
Bouldery Hill in Utopia Planitia (Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)
|
Caption NASA originale:"Boulders are one of the possible keys to determining which processes have eroded, transported and deposited material on Mars (i.e.: Landslides, Mudflows, Flood Debris etc.).
During the first year in orbit, MGS-MOC obtained pictures with resolutions between 2 and 30 mt per pixel. It was found that Boulders are difficult to identify on Mars in images with resolutions worse than about 2-3 meters per pixel. Some rather larger Boulders (larger than about 10 mt in size) have already been seen on Mars by the orbiting camera.
This is a feat similar to that which can be obtained by "spy" satellites on Earth. The MOC image 53104 subframe shown here features a low, rounded Hill in South/Eastern Utopia Planitia. Each of the small, lumpy features on the top of this Hill is a Boulder.
In this picture, Boulders are not seen on the surrounding Plain. These Boulders are interpreted to be the remants of a layer of harder rock that once covered the top of the Hill, but was subsequently eroded and broken up by weathering and wind processes".
|
|