NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 2 May 2023: Flat Martian rocks shot by Curiosity Rover | Tech News

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 2 May 2023: Flat Martian rocks shot by Curiosity Rover

Today’s NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day is a snapshot of Flat rock hills on the surface of Mars, captured by the Curiosity Rover.

By: HT TECH
| Updated on: May 02 2023, 12:28 IST
Best NASA Astronomy Pictures of the Week: Geomagnetic storms, Tarantula Nebula and more
Mars
1/5 The Medulla Nebula Supernova Remnant (April 24) - It is CTB-1, also known as the Medulla Nebula Supernova Remnant. It is a rare cosmic bubble and the remnant of an ancient supernova explosion that occurred about 10000 years ago, according to NASA. The Medulla Nebula Supernova Remnant is given the name because of its brain-like shape and is located towards the constellation of Cassiopeia. (NASA/Kimberly Sibbald)
Mars
2/5 Geomagnetic Storm sparks Auroras (April 25) - Stunning auroras sparked by the G4-class geomagnetic storm were captured from Caceres, Spain. But it wasn’t just Spain where the auroras were visible. According to a report by spaceweather.com, the stunning streaks of light were seen lighting up the sky in Europe, in several parts of the U.S., New Zealand and as far as south of France.  (NASA/Landon Moeller)
Mars
3/5 Full Moon shot through Arc de Triomphe (April 26) - This captured image is a fascinating snapshot of the full Moon through the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France. The amount of Moon we see changes over the month, which is known as the lunar phases, and there are 8 in total - New Moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full Moon, waning gibbous, third quarter and waning crescent Moon. (Stefano Zanarello/NASA)
Mars
4/5 The fascinating Tarantula Nebula (April 27) - is the 30 Doradus, also known as the Tarantula Nebula, located about 160,000 light-years away towards the constellation of Dorado. The 30 Doradus is also called the Tarantula Nebula because of its glowing filaments which resemble spider legs, according to NASA. The Nebula is special as it can be seen in the Southern sky with the naked eye. It resembles a large milky patch of stars when viewed from Earth. (NASA/SuperBIT)
Mars
5/5 Runaway star Alpha Camelopardalis (April 28) - It is a snapshot of Alpha Camelopardalis, a runaway star located about 4,000 light-years away in the long-necked constellation Camelopardalis. According to NASA, this star is moving through space at a rapid speed of about 60 kilometers per second. In fact, this star is about 25-30 times the size of our Sun and over 500,000 times brighter! NASA has also revealed that Alpha Camelopardalis is 5 times hotter than our Sun, with a temperature of about 30,000 Kelvin. (NASA/Andre Vilhena)
Mars
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NASA’s Curiosity Rover snapped this picture of the flat rocks on the Martian surface. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Neville Thompson)

Mars, popularly known as the Red Planet, has captured the attention of astronomers, scientists and sci-fi geeks for decades. This is mainly due to its fascinating geographical features such as mysterious craters, lowlands and a core full of precious and rare metals. Moreover, several structures have been found on the red planet which resemble objects on Earth. These include a duck shaped rock and even the famous Paddington Bear!

Today's NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day is a snapshot of Flat rock hills on the surface of Mars. When compared to the steep rocks of Earth, Martian rocks are considerably flat everywhere. This is because the Martian geography has been shaped by impact processes, erosion in particular. The Martian wind, which is 95% Carbon Dioxide, acts as sandpaper and rubs against the rocks, which flattens them.

The picture of the Martian surface was captured last month by NASA's Curiosity Rover and processed by Neville Thompson. The Curiosity Rover has been on a Mars exploratory mission for the last decade.

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Since its launch in 2011, the Martian rover has not only captured breathtaking snapshots of the barren planet but has also discovered the potential signs that life may have existed on the planet.

NASA's description of the picture

Why are there so many flat rocks on Mars? Some views of plains and hills on Mars show many rocks that are unusually flat when compared to rocks on Earth. One reason for this is a process that is common to both Mars and Earth: erosion. The carbon-dioxide wind on Mars can act like sandpaper when it blows around gritty Martian sand. This sand can create differential erosion, smoothing over some rocks, while wearing down the tops of other long-exposed stones.

The featured image capturing several hills covered with flat-topped rocks was taken last month by NASA's Curiosity Rover on Mars. This robotic rover has now been rolling across Mars for ten years and has helped uncover many details of the wet and windy past of Earth's planetary neighbor. After taking this and other images, Curiosity carefully navigated stones and slippery sand to climb up Marker Band Valley.

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First Published Date: 02 May, 12:27 IST
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