PIA05242: Dunes in Twilight
 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:  418 x 1207 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems
 Producer ID:  MOC2-608
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA05242.tif (455.1 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA05242.jpg (61.02 kB)

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

17 January 2004
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows frost-covered north polar dunes in early January 2004. When this picture was taken, the dunes were in twilight, just before the late winter dawn that would come a few days later. These dunes spent many of the last several months in complete darkness. In this image, they are illuminated only by sunlight that has been scattered over the horizon by the martian atmosphere. These dunes are located near 77.0°N, 246.2°W. The image covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and has been expanded by 200% from its original 12 meters (39 ft.) per pixel scale. While the sun had not yet risen when the image was obtained, illumination is mostly from the lower left.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2004-01-17