Reull Vallis, Mars.
http://www.dearastronomer.com/
Over the weekend, a link to this image of Mars from the Mars Express orbiter in 2004 was sent in. While this image is nearly seven years old, I thought it would be good to share since it is such an amazing image.
What is particularly spectacular is the channel carved into the Martian landscape from once flowing water, showing once again more and more proof that Mars had flowing water for a pretty significant amount of time, and possibly up to very recently in the past.
From the ESA website:
This picture was taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) onboard ESA’s Mars Express orbiter, in colour and 3D, in orbit 18 on 15 January 2004 from a height of 273 km. The location is east of the Hellas basin at 41° South and 101° East. The area is 100 km across, with a resolution of 12 m per pixel, and shows a channel (Reull Vallis) once formed by flowing water. The landscape is seen in a vertical view, North is at the top.
Image Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)
Ray Sanders is a Sci-Fi geek, astronomer and blogger. Currently researching variable stars at Arizona State University, he writes for Universe Today, The Planetary Society blog, and his own blog, Dear Astronomer
2012-12-04 08:06:10
Source: http://www.dearastronomer.com/2011/06/06/reull-vallis-mars/
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