The unfaltering juggernaut of daily Space photographs APOD shared a remarkable image of Mars last night.
Yes, Mars.
Don’t get too excited though, despite their appearance those blackened tree like structures cresting on the rolling hills are just an illusion of perspective. The photograph was taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2008 and is actually a picture from 400 kilometres overhead.
The mini forests are in fact no more than dark sand cascading down the top of dunes and in one instance you can even see the process taking place in a closeup.
What do we love about it? It’s another fantastic example of pareidolia on Mars where the pinkish coloured sand gives an uncanny resemblance to the Cyprus hills of Saskatchewan. It’s a landscape photograph the MRO can be quite proud of.
Make sure you follow Phogotraphy on Facebook or Twitter as later on today we’ll be sharing a bigger story about another Space themed picture which isn’t quite as it seems.
Image Credit: HiRISE, MRO, LPL (U. Arizona), NASA
via APOD.
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