NASA · Space

Curiosity Rover Captures Martian Sunrise

NASA's Curiosity rover has captured a panorama of a sunrise on Mars, illuminating distant wind-carved features known as yardangs.

The image was taken on the 4,982nd Martian day of the mission, as Curiosity ascends Mount Sharp. Scientists are interested in understanding the formation of the yardang layer, which caps the stack of distinct geological layers on the mountain.

This layer may represent a gap in the continuous climate history recorded in Mount Sharp's layers, potentially due to erosion before the yardang layer was deposited. One hypothesis suggests the layer is composed of volcanic ash.

The panorama was created by stitching together six images taken by Curiosity's Mastcam. The image processing intentionally omitted white balancing to preserve the natural appearance of the early morning light.

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