Space & Astronomy

These weird sand dunes on Mars are 'almost perfectly circular'

By T.K. Randall
March 15, 2023 ·  9 comments

These are some strange looking sand dunes. Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UArizona Like giant dark-colored chocolate buttons, these dunes - which were captured by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera system onboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft - look like nothing ever seen on the Red Planet before.

"Sand dunes of many shapes and sizes are common on Mars," a press release by the University of Arizona states. "In this example, the dunes are almost perfectly circular, which is unusual.""They are still slightly asymmetrical, with steep slip faces on the south ends."

"This indicates that sand generally moves to the south, but the winds may be variable."

Exactly how these particular dunes came to form, however, currently remains a complete mystery.

Source: Independent | Comments (9)

Tags: Mars, Dunes