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Bruce Murray Space Image Library

Recurring slope lineae in Newton Crater, Mars

Recurring slope lineae in Newton Crater, Mars
Recurring slope lineae in Newton Crater, Mars This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show recurring slope lineae — narrow (0.5 to 5 meters, or 1.6 to 16 feet wide), relatively dark-toned features that form on steep (25-40˚), southern-hemisphere slopes, and that appear in early spring. They grow longer in the downslope direction during spring and summer, and fade during autumn and winter. NASA / JPL / UA / Emily Lakdawalla

Original HiRISE image

Color data has been overlaid on higher-resolution red-channel data. The red-channel data was sharpened first.

Read more about this image and recurring slope lineae here.

Here is a comparison of the same crater wall on two different dates.

Recurring slope lineae at Newton Crater, Mars, in the early season (left) and the late season (right)
Recurring slope lineae at Newton Crater, Mars, in the early season (left) and the late season (right) Recurring slope lineae flow downhill from the rocky cliffs at right to the sandy slopes at left. White bars shown the distance that individual lineae have flowed. Left image is a portion of ESP_022267_1380. Right image is a portion of ESP_022689_1380.Image: NASA / JPL / UA / Joe Levy