Comments on: Where In The Universe Challenge #19

By: Kasei

Kasei — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:04:28 +0000

Mars, in the northern dune field. The white stuff on top of the dunes is carbon dioxide frost. The spacecraft is the MRO or Mar Resonances Orbiter. The instrument used is the HIRISE camera.

By: RetardedFishFrog

RetardedFishFrog — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:50:51 +0000

Finally got one of these. (This one was a little too easy)

By: Sili

Sili — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:13:38 +0000

Nope – I was sure it was water again.

By: RL

RL — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:44:02 +0000

Hey I got one! Cool picture.

By: neoguru

neoguru — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:26:15 +0000

Woo Hoo! I nailed it! Now 14 for 19 or 74% correct. Isn't that a "D" on the college scale? I see others are getting it too, but I don't think it was particularly easy. I'd call it about average difficulty. Keep 'em coming!

By: Dori

Dori — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:50:40 +0000

Uh… Did someone forget to clean their fingerprints off the camera lens?

By: andy

andy — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:43:02 +0000

Fingerprints on a frosty glass of dark beer!

By: Chris Coles

Chris Coles — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:35:03 +0000

But look carefully. They are not what we would describe as dunes. The HiRISE image shows them to be a number of raised mounts. I would say, from the size of the crater, they might each be as much as two or three thousand feet high.

Can anyone remember seeing frozen water droplets? But these are not droplets, they are very much larger than that and they must be separate areas inside the crater where liquid is rising to the surface. So I ask; are these small ice mountains? So why are they rippled like sand dunes? Perhaps they catch the water vapour as such a light covering that the frost acts as though it really is snow and then "ripples" at the surface. We have to remember that whatever the process, it has been active at the surface for millions of years and these are dunes that have been undisturbed, (other than by the wind), since they first started to form.

The more we see, the greater the excitement and challenge to work out if what we see is the reality. Wow! Mind blowing!

By: Kootstar

Kootstar — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:03:35 +0000

3 things did come to mind, but I did not trust my brain and could not put it all together correctly. I saw dunes, and thought Mars from one of the orbiters, but that white didn't match the polar cap. Guess I smelled the coffee but just didn't wake up.

By: Maugrim

Maugrim — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 07:31:27 +0000

Nice to finally get one right, even if it is a pretty easy one!

By: Yoo

Yoo — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:22:33 +0000

Had a feeling that there would be a good chance it would be Mars, but it was pure chance that I got MRO right, having picked the spacecraft essentially at random. ^_^;;

By: Haplo

Haplo — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:38:00 +0000

Mars!

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:34:55 +0000

Ha i got it

By: alfamonaro

alfamonaro — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 23:44:58 +0000

Ahhhhh satisfaction at last! Nice to get them both right

By: astrocrazy

astrocrazy — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:52:06 +0000

Hi after a very long time, i guessed that it was martian frost but didnt get HiRISE… I am getting there..one of these days..i will crack the full thing…
Thanks again, Nancy

By: Jorge

Jorge — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:01:43 +0000

I'll eat my hat if this isn't a dune field in Mars, shot by MRO's HiRISE camera…

Let's see…

YES! I won't eat my hat!

(I wouldn't anyway: I don't have one )