PIA02681: Lonely Barchans
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows two barchan dunes in the north polar region of Mars. The orientation of the dunes, with the steep faces pointed toward the southeast, indicates that the winds responsible for their formation blew from the northwest.
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) 
 Spacecraft:  Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter
 Instrument:  Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) 
 Product Size:  672 x 1152 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-1390  
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA02681.tif (775.1 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA02681.jpg (139.5 kB)  

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Original Caption Released with Image:

3 March 2006
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows two barchan dunes in the north polar region of Mars. The orientation of the dunes, with the steep faces pointed toward the southeast (lower right), indicates that the winds responsible for their formation blew from the northwest (upper left). At the time this image was acquired by MOC, the dunes and surrounding plains were covered by seasonal carbon dioxide frost.

Location near: 73.8°N, 40.8°W
Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from: lower left
Season: Northern Winter

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2006-03-03