Arkivism
Polygonal Patterns Highlighted by Frost
Public domain

Polygonal Patterns Highlighted by Frost

NASA / JPL · 2019-11-27 · photograph (digital archive)

From the collection of NASA Image and Video Library. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.

About this work

It's spring in the Northern Hemisphere of Mars (when this image was taken), and this area was recently completely covered by the seasonal frost cap. Here, we see polygonal patterns that are highlighted by carbon dioxide frost that has not entirely sublimed away. These organized patterns are likely caused by differences in the soil (regolith) characteristics such as grain size, density, even grain-shape and orientation in the underlying landforms and geologic materials.

NASA Image and Video Library’s own description
Credit linePolygonal Patterns Highlighted by Frost. NASA/JPL, 2019-11-27. Public domain. ID: PIA23581.

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