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North Polar Dune Patterns

Sept. 12, 2003
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows dark, windblown sand forming spectacular geometric patterns in the north polar sand seas of Mars.

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-478, 9 September 2003

Dark, windblown sand forms spectacular geometric patterns in the north polar sand seas, particularly in regions where strong winds converge from different directions over the course of a year. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture shows some of these dark dune patterns near 77.8°N, 284.4°W. The picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) across and is illuminated by sunlight from the lower left.

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