Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera Release: MOC2-7 Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera Image ID: 556502306.31
Click on image for full resolution version (50 KBytes)
Image acquired 8/19/1997 23:58:24 UTC
Camera Aim Point = 23.6°N, 352.2°W
Range = 5.73 Mkm
The bright area at the center of this view of Mars taken by the MGS/MOC is called Arabia. It contains some of the brightest ground on Mars, thought to be especially deep or fresh dust deposits. Syrtis Major, the dark feature curving north-south near the center edge of the planet, is devoid of large amounts of dust, probably because sand moves for frequently there and kicks up the dust into the martian air where it can be transported away. The dark "splotches" near the middle top of the image are small sand dune fields trapped in the depressions of the Protonilus and Nilosyrtis "fretted terrain" (a zone of valleys formed by tectonic fracturing and subsequent erosion). In the lower portion of the image is Terra Sabaea, a heavily cratered area near regions where major dust storms occur. The light, semicircular indentation is the 480 km diameter crater Schiaparelli.
Click Here for more information on MGS data release and archiving plans. |
Contact: info@msss.com