Clustered Impact Features
Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona , Posted on: Friday, 4 July 2008, 12:50 CDT Download full size image
Nili Fossae is a region that is thought to be approximately 3.5 billion years in age and, based on results from Omega, is the largest exposure of olivine (a common dark colored rock forming mineral found in igneous rocks) on the surface of Mars. The many fractures and grabens (depressed blocks of crust resulting from extension) that make up the region are believed to be the result of the Isidis impact basin.
Of particular interest are the two impact clusters found midway down this image. Each cluster is approximately 100 meters in diameter. The exact origin of such features is not known. It is thought that they are the result of a loosely conglomerated, stony meteoroid that broke apart during descent through the Martian atmosphere.
More Images

Bolivian Andes.More than 7,000 kilometers (4,400 miles) long and more than 500 kilometers (300 miles) wide in pl...

Fireworks Accompanying Galaxy Collisions.Reminiscent of a fireworks celebration, this Hubble Space Telescope image of a cosmic explosion t...
Latest Thoughts
First Map of America Found
Treating Autism with Oxygen
Painless Diabetes Test
Fish Farms May Do More Harm Than Good
A Robot That Cares for Humans
Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers Restore Brain Function













RSS Feeds