Where In The Universe Challenge #146

Here’s this week’s image for the Where In The Universe Challenge, to test your visual knowledge of the cosmos. You know what to do: take a look at this image and see if you can determine where in the universe this image is from; give yourself extra points if you can name the spacecraft/telescope responsible for the image. We’ll provide the image today, but won’t reveal the answer until later. This gives you a chance to mull over the image and provide your answer/guess in the comment section. Please, no links or extensive explanations of what you think this is — give everyone the chance to guess.

UPDATE: The answer has now been posted below!

Ah, its springtime on Mars’ southern hemisphere! This is Mars, as seen by the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Specifically, this is a “spot” near the south pole of Mars (-84.3 degrees latitude and 242.1 degrees east longitude) called the Starfish region. MRO is monitoring how warmer weather is changing the polar landscape.

And here’s a look at a bigger view of the area.

For more info on this image see the HiRISE website!

15 Replies to “Where In The Universe Challenge #146”

  1. A Snow Leopard on Earth, No, others beat me to it, Defrosting in Mars Polar Region, from HiRise, of course.

  2. I sort of like the idea of a close up of a dalmatian, but Mars was my first thought.

  3. It’s a moldy slice of white bread that Nancy threw out from her kitchen this morning. 😉

  4. I’m still waiting for the day when Nancy really does throw us a curveball, and the answer ends up being “the back of my hand” or “a closeup of some mouldy bread”. Heh.

  5. HiRISE people probably got it right and picture is too good for my guess, but just for fun … Iapetus!

  6. I’ve got a more detailed and interesting question about this region. Say you were living in some compound in that area, and one of these sprouted up nearby. How would it effect you? What is the composition of these gaseous outbursts?

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