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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: "Ballistic" Sand May Explain Shifting Martian Dunes


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Sand ripples stretch across the Martian plain of Meridiani Planum, as imaged by the Opportunity rover.

A controversial new study suggests a chain reaction of spraying dust, and not wind, is the primary way sand dunes shift on Mars today.

Image by National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, courtesy National Academy of Sciences, PNAS (Copyright 2008)