Identify Geographic Formation

• by A.Gilstrap

  Can anyone tell me what the vein like geographic features are that are on the top of these mountains? I would appreciate it.

  Posted January 3, 2014 12:28 AM

• by p.titchin

  Hi, due to our brains being used to images lit from above, we find it hard to interpret many of our Mars images, as they are not lit from above. You can try looking at your screen via a mirror. This image shows channels, some with ice and shadows, not mountains and ridges. The channels are called 'spider' channels, and are carved out by the sublimation of CO2 under the seasonal ice cap. the site intro at http://planetfour.org/#/about has a basic explanation. Dont be worried about seeing valleys as hills, and vice versa, most of us planet four followers have been fooled, but the more images you look at, the easier it gets avoid the illusion. ~Pete.

  Posted January 3, 2014 10:26 AM

• by mschwamb scientist, translator

  To echo what Pete said, we have a nice blog post that explains this effect in more detail by Anya from the Science team.

  Cheers,

  ~Meg

  Posted January 4, 2014 5:43 AM

• by A.Gilstrap

  Thanks!

  Posted January 6, 2014 5:12 PM