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Lucus Planum
Lucus Planum is a region on Mars, named after an albedo feature. Its name was approved by the IAU in 1997. The center latitude of the feature is 4.99 degrees S and the center longitude is 182.83 degrees It lies just to the east and north east of the volcano Apollinaris Patera. Lucus Planum lies in both the Memnonia quadrangle and the Aeolis quadrangles. It is part of a region called the "Medusae Fossae Formation" Part of this region is covered with yardangs. They are formed by the action of wind on sand sized particles; hence they often point in the direction that the winds were blowing when they were formed. Views of yardangs in this region are shown below. 44777yardangcontext.jpg, Wide context view of surface of Lucus Planum, as seen with CTX. 44777yardangcontextclose.jpg, Closer view of yardangs from previous image, as seen with CTX. ESP 044777 1725yardangs.jpg, Wide view of yardangs in Lucus Planum, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program 44777 1725yardangs2.jpg, Close view ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere (less than 1% that of Earth's), and has a crust primarily composed of elements similar to Earth's crust, as well as a core made of iron and nickel. Mars has surface features such as impact craters, valleys, dunes and polar ice caps. It has two small and irregularly shaped moons, Phobos and Deimos. Some of the most notable surface features on Mars include Olympus Mons, the largest volcano and highest known mountain in the Solar System and Valles Marineris, one of the largest canyons in the Solar System. The Borealis basin in the Northern Hemisphere covers approximately 40% of the planet and may be a large impact feature. Days and seasons on Mars are comparable to those of Earth, as the planets have a similar rotation period a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apollinaris Patera
Apollinaris may refer to: Personal name * Apollinaris, a correspondent of Pliny the Younger (61–c. 112) * Apollinaris of Ravenna (flourished 1st or 2nd century), martyr and first bishop of Ravenna, the most prominent of several saints called Apollinaris * Apollinarius (astrologer), a first or second century AD astrologer * Apollinaris Claudius, Apollinaris of Hierapolis or Apollinaris the Apologist (flourished 2nd century), bishop of Hierapolis and saint * Apollinaris (the Elder) (flourished 4th century), Christian grammarian * Apollinaris of Laodicea or the Younger, also known as Apollinarius of Laodicea (died 390), bishop of Laodicea in Syria, author of the heresy of Apollinarism * Apollinaris Syncletica, also known as Dorotheus (5th century), female desert ascetic, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint * Apollinaris of Clermont (died 515), son of Sidonius Apollinaris * Apollinarius (governor), Byzantine governor of the Balearic Islands (flourished 530s) * Patriarch Apollinari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Memnonia Quadrangle
The Memnonia quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Memnonia quadrangle is also referred to as MC-16 (Mars Chart-16). The quadrangle is a region of Mars that covers latitude -30° to 0° and longitude 135° to 180°. The western part of Memnonia is a highly cratered highland region that exhibits a large range of crater degradation. Memnonia includes these topographical regions of Mars: * Arcadia Planitia * Amazonis Planitia * Lucus Planum * Terra Sirenum * Daedalia Planum * Terra Cimmeria Recently, evidence of water was found in the area. Layered sedimentary rocks were found in the wall and floor of Columbus Crater. These rocks could have been deposited by water or by wind. Hydrated minerals were found in some of the layers, so water may have been involved. Many ancient river valleys including Mangala Vallis, have been found in the Memnonia quadrangle. Manga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aeolis Quadrangle
The Aeolis quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Aeolis quadrangle is also referred to as MC-23 (Mars Chart-23). The Aeolis quadrangle covers 180° to 225° W and 0° to 30° south on Mars, and contains parts of the regions Elysium Planitia and Terra Cimmeria. A small part of the Medusae Fossae Formation lies in this quadrangle. The name refers to the name of a floating western island of Aeolos, the ruler of the winds. In Homer's account, Odysseus received the west wind Zephyr here and kept it in bags, but the wind got out. It is famous as the site of two spacecraft landings: the ''Spirit'' rover landing site () in Gusev crater (January 4, 2004), and the ''Curiosity'' rover in Gale Crater () (August 6, 2012). A large, ancient river valley, called Ma'adim Vallis, enters at the south rim of Gusev Crater, so Gusev Crater was believed to be an ancient lake bed. Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medusae Fossae Formation
The Medusae Fossae Formation is a large geological formation of probable volcanic origin on the planet Mars. It is named for the Medusa of Greek mythology. "Fossae" is Latin for "trenches". The formation is a collection of soft, easily eroded deposits that extends discontinuously for more than 5,000 km along the equator of Mars. Its roughly-shaped regions extend from just south of Olympus Mons to Apollinaris Patera, with a smaller additional region closer to Gale Crater. The total area of the formation is equal to 20% the size of the continental United States. It is divided into three subunits (members) that are all considered to be of Amazonian age, the youngest era in martian geological history. The formation straddles the highland - lowland boundary near the Tharsis and Elysium volcanic areas, and extends across five quadrangles: Amazonis, Tharsis, Memnonia, Elysium, and Aeolis. Origin and age The origin of the formation is unknown, but many theories hav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yardang
A yardang is a streamlined protuberance carved from bedrock or any consolidated or semiconsolidated material by the dual action of wind abrasion by dust and sand and deflation (the removal of loose material by wind turbulence.) Yardangs become elongated features typically three or more times longer than wide, and when viewed from above, resemble the hull of a boat. Facing the wind is a steep, blunt face that gradually gets lower and narrower toward the lee end. Yardangs are formed by wind erosion, typically of an originally flat surface formed from areas of harder and softer material. The soft material is eroded and removed by the wind, and the harder material remains. The resulting pattern of yardangs is therefore a combination of the original rock distribution, and the fluid mechanics of the air flow and resulting pattern of erosion. Names The word itself is of Turkic origin, meaning ‘steep bank’, as this type of spectacular landscapes rising are best developed in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CTX (camera)
''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' (MRO) is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, and reached Mars on March 10, 2006. In November 2006, after five months of aerobraking, it entered its final science orbit and began its primary science phase. The cost to develop and operate MRO through the end of its prime mission in 2010 was . The spacecraft continues to operate at Mars, far beyond its intended design life. Due to its critical role as a high-speed data-relay for ground missions, NASA intends to continue the mission as long as possible, at least through the late 2020s. Pre-launch After the twin failures of the ''Mars Climate Orbiter'' and the Mars Polar Lander missions in 1999, NASA reorganized and replanned its Mars Exploration Program. In October 2000, NASA announced its reformulated Mars plans, which reduced the numb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HiRISE
High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is a camera on board the ''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' which has been orbiting and studying Mars since 2006. The 65 kg (143 lb), US$40 million instrument was built under the direction of the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. It consists of a 0.5m (19.7 in) aperture reflecting telescope, the largest so far of any deep space mission, which allows it to take pictures of Mars with resolutions of 0.3m/pixel (1ft/pixel), resolving objects below a meter across. HiRISE has imaged Mars exploration rovers on the surface, including the ''Opportunity'' rover and the ongoing ''Curiosity'' mission. History In the late 1980s, of Ball Aerospace & Technologies began planning the kind of high-resolution imaging needed to support sample return and surface exploration of Mars. In early 2001 he teamed up with Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona to propose such ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HiWish Program
HiWish is a program created by NASA so that anyone can suggest a place for the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to photograph. It was started in January 2010. In the first few months of the program 3000 people signed up to use HiRISE. The first images were released in April 2010. Over 12,000 suggestions were made by the public; suggestions were made for targets in each of the 30 quadrangles of Mars. Selected images released were used for three talks at the 16th Annual International Mars Society Convention. Below are some of the over 4,224 images that have been released from the HiWish program as of March 2016. Glacial features Some landscapes look just like glaciers moving out of mountain valleys on Earth. Some have a hollowed-out appearance, looking like a glacier after almost all the ice has disappeared. What is left are the moraines—the dirt and debris carried by the glacier. The center is hollowed out because the ice is mostly gone. These supposed alp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Planetary Nomenclature
Planetary nomenclature, like terrestrial nomenclature, is a system of uniquely identifying features on the surface of a planet or natural satellite so that the features can be easily located, described, and discussed. Since the invention of the telescope, astronomers have given names to the surface features they have discerned, especially on the Moon and Mars. To found an authority on planetary nomenclature, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) was organized in 1919 to designate and standardize names for features on Solar System bodies. How names are approved by the IAU When images are first obtained of the surface of a planet or satellite, a theme for naming features is chosen and a few important features are named, usually by members of the appropriate IAU task group (a commonly accepted planet-naming group). Later, as higher resolution images and maps become available, additional features are named at the request of investigators mapping or describing specific surfaces ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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