Martes Valles Double Crater

Image Title: Martes Valles Double Crater
Release Date: September 25, 2006
Source: Mars Global Surveyor

Description

This image could be titled "A Tale of Two Craters" because of the substantial difference in their appearance. While both craters are well weathered, obviously the crater on the left is possibly much older than the crater on the right. Sediments have filled the crater on the left leaving only its rim showing. It is also apparent that subsequent to the formation of these two craters, some erosive event took place. The evidence for this erosive event is the protected area inside the "shoreline" that is in the lee of the craters. It is hard to know if the sediment filled crater is filled because it is much older or is filled because the crater rim was of insufficient height to protect it from the erosive event. From appearances, I suspect that the crater is filled with sediments because it is much older.

Source Image Background

The source image was acquired by the Mars Global Surveyor MOC narrow-angle camera in February 2002. The width of the image is 3 kilometers and the location is at 21.46° north latitude, 175.52° west longitude,

Image Processing

All processing of this image was done using Adobe Photoshop. This includes noise removal, the application of false color, contrast enhancement and tonal adjustments. This particular image required significant texture processing in order to eliminate the severe striping present in the raw source image.

Wallpaper Download

I have created a compressed low resolution version of "Martes Valles Double Crater" for use as a desktop wallpaper. This wallpaper version is made available for your personal use only. It is not to be modified or redistributed in any form by any means. All rights are retained by the artist.

Martes Valles Double Crater, 1024 x 768 Wallpaper Image by Jim Plaxco