The Red Planet appears to be more alien than usual because of the ripples of blue sand.
The striking color is not what it looks like. You have to look a little deeper than its make-up to see the real beauty.
The scenery was imaged by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and it turned out to be false color.
It is true that this enhancement looks pretty, but it is not done just to make Mars look better.
There are dunes andverse aeolian ridges on Mars. The University of Arizona is affiliated with NASA and Caltech.
The Gamboa crater is located in the northern hemisphere of Mars.
A few feet separates the ripples on top of the hills from each other. At some point they merge to form small mounds that can be seen from a distance.
It's easier to see the distinctive patterns of these medium-sized structures when they are colored brightly in blue.
There are features in the center of the crater.
The sand in the Transverse Aeolian Ridges is very coarse. The enhanced colors of the large dunes suggest ongoing erosive processes.
The mega-ripples appear green on one side of an enhanced color cutout while the TAR appears brighter blue on the other.
There is a closer look at the ripples. The University of Arizona is affiliated with NASA and Caltech.
It's possible that the TAR are moving under the force of the wind and making them brighter. The different features can be used to determine which way the wind was blowing. Being able to study such variety so close together allows us to look at what they are made of and how they formed.
Sometimes it's all you need to learn something new and appreciate the wonders of the universe.
The above image can be downloaded from the NASA website.
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