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Macclesfield Fans, variant

Edited Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of fans in Macclesfield. Color/processing variant.

 

Image source: www.uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_064469_0945

 

Original caption: Every Martian spring, fans of dust are blown out from under the seasonal layer of carbon dioxide ice that forms a polar cap over the winter.

 

Gas blowing out from under the ice carries with it a load of dust that is deposited on the surface in a direction determined by the wind at the time of the eruption. Like windsocks, these fans in a polar area we’ve dubbed Macclesfield, record the direction that the wind was blowing.

 

A citizen science task at Planet Four enlists the public to outline the fans. Their measurements go into a data base that will ultimately help us to understand weather on Mars.

 

ID: ESP_064469_0945

date: 27 April 2020

altitude: 245 km

 

NASA/JPL/UArizona

uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_064469_0945

 

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Uploaded on May 29, 2020