Post by glactus on Apr 1, 2008 1:22:24 GMT
This breathtaking 3D landscape was constructed with high definition images taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board ESA's Mars Express orbiter.
The new observations show Hebes Chasma, a strange mountain region nested inside the canyon, with channel-like fingers reaching out into the Martian landscape. The imaged region shows features down to a resolution of 15 meters per pixel, an awe-inspiring view… in stereo!
The HRSC is currently looking down onto the Red Planet's surface, taking shots of the planet in full colour, in 3D and with a maximum resolution of two meters. The camera design allows it unrivalled pointing accuracy by combining images at different resolutions at each orbital pass.
By imaging the landscape at three different wavelengths (i.e. three colours), a stereoscopic view of Mars features give observers an insight to how the canyon will look from different angles, in 3D models.
Hebes Chasma is a very prominent Mars feature just north of the huge Valles Marineris system (a.k.a. the "Grand Canyon of Mars"). Hebes is described as an enclosed trough, with a high, flat-top mountain range right in the centre.
The canyon is over 8 km deep in places, and the central mountain ascends to this height, at the same level as the surrounding plains.
Art planets
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This is part text only. See images, full text and all scientists involved at universetoday.com
www.universetoday.com/2008/03/30/the-deepest-canyon-on-mars-in-stunning-high-definition-new-images-from-the-hrsc/#more-13394
article credit: Ian O'neill
