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Where red Mars looks blue

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May 11, 2016

View larger. | This is one of the most colorful places on Mars, as seen by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on February 5, 2016. It's the The Nili Fossae region, located on the northwest rim of Isidis impact basin. Image via NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona. — View larger. | The Nili Fossae region on Mars – one of Mars’ most colorful places – located on the northwest rim of Isidis impact basin. Image via NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona.

Mars is the red planet, but it turns out that many images we see of it show Mars’ colors as homogenized by the this world’s reddish dust and regolith. This new image from the HiRISE camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter – taken on February 5, 2016 – shows fantastic colors on Mars.

HiRISE stands for High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, and the camera team explained:

Here the bedrock is very well exposed, except where there are sand dunes.

The rocks also have diverse compositions, which produce different colors in HiRISE infrared-red-blue color images.

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May 11, 2016

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Deborah Byrd

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Deborah Byrd (asteroid 3505 Byrd) helps edit EarthSky.org and is a frequent host of EarthSky videos. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named in her honor in 1990, a Public Service Award from the National Science Board in 2003, and the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society in 2020. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.