Martian Shark Teeth Dunes

Image Title: Martian Shark Teeth Dunes
Release Date: October 14, 2005
Source: Mars Global Surveyor

Description

The diversity of sand dune formations on Mars is truly amazing. Their repetitive geometric forms sometimes remind me of the tessellations of Escher. The form that a dune field assumes is governed by local topography, the availability and nature of the sand particles, and the nature of the local winds. The dunes shown here were formed by winds that blew primarily from the bottom of the image towards the top. Dune fields occupy the bottom of many of Mars' craters.

Martian Shark Teeth Dunes Source Image Background

The source image was taken by the Mars Global Surveyor Narrow Angle Camera in September 2000. The target area lies in the Noachis quadrangle of Mars some distance west of Hellas Planitia. The dune field is located inside Proctor Crater which is located at -47.8° latitude, 329.3° longitude.

Martian Shark Teeth Dunes Image Processing

All processing of this image was done with Adobe Photoshop. A novel coloring technique that I have developed was used to create this false color image. For another example of this technique, see the image "Magnificent Desolation."

Martian Shark Teeth Dunes Wallpaper Download

I have created a low resolution, compressed version of "Martian Shark Teeth Dunes" for use as a desktop wallpaper. Note that 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.

Martian Shark Teeth Dunes, 1280 X 1024 Wallpaper Image by Jim Plaxco