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Pettit Crater - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
A dunefield in the 98 km wide Pettit Crater, located in the lowlands of Utopia Planitia. It appears to be the source is the source of a dark streak extending several hundred kilometers downwind. It is likely that this crater once acted as a sand trap for dunes migrating across the largely flat surface of Utopia Planitia. The modern wind pattern are now favorable for sand to climb the relatively shallow southern rim of the crater, allowing the sand to escape and resume its migration across the surrounding plains.
This image was created using the CRISM imaging spectrometer. Each pixel of a CRISM image contains a 500 point spectrum, from which a color can be reconstructed. This reconstructed color was overlaid on a higher-resolution image taken with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Context Camera (CTX), which simultaneously took a photo while CRISM was collecting data.
This image was taken on December 21, 2006. It uses CRISM observation HRL0000379F and CTX observation P02_001882_1920_XI_12N174W.
Image Credit: NASA / JPL / JHUAPL / MSSS / Justin Cowart
Pettit Crater - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
A dunefield in the 98 km wide Pettit Crater, located in the lowlands of Utopia Planitia. It appears to be the source is the source of a dark streak extending several hundred kilometers downwind. It is likely that this crater once acted as a sand trap for dunes migrating across the largely flat surface of Utopia Planitia. The modern wind pattern are now favorable for sand to climb the relatively shallow southern rim of the crater, allowing the sand to escape and resume its migration across the surrounding plains.
This image was created using the CRISM imaging spectrometer. Each pixel of a CRISM image contains a 500 point spectrum, from which a color can be reconstructed. This reconstructed color was overlaid on a higher-resolution image taken with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Context Camera (CTX), which simultaneously took a photo while CRISM was collecting data.
This image was taken on December 21, 2006. It uses CRISM observation HRL0000379F and CTX observation P02_001882_1920_XI_12N174W.
Image Credit: NASA / JPL / JHUAPL / MSSS / Justin Cowart