Scylla - Sol 644

These images were acquired by NASA's MER Opportunity using its Pan Cam on Sol 644 (Nov. 15, 2005) and its NavCam on Sol 645 (Nov. 16, 2005- color image). The view looks towards the East, covering a large wind-blown ripple called "Scylla" other nearby ripples and patches of brighter rock strewn with dark cobbles. PanCam bands L4 (601-nnmts wavelength), L5 (535 nnmts) and L6 (482 nnmts) correspond to red, green and blue bands in the false-color image shown in the upper left. The blue-tinted colors associated with the scours and ripple crests are probably due to the presence of basaltic sands mixed with hematite-rich spherules. Color patterns on the larger ripple flanks are caused by different amounts of reddish dust. The larger ripple flanks have an intricate mixture of erosional scours and secondary ripples extending downward from the main ripple crests, suggesting that these ripples have most recently encountered a period of wind erosion and transport of their outer layers.