Layered sediments are exciting to geologists because they record a sequence of deposition, a small slice of Martian history preserved like an open book. This dramatic image shows bright and dark layers exposed in a scarp in eastern Hellas, an ancient giant basin in the southern mid-latitudes of Mars.

The conspicuous contrast in brightness between the visible laminae tells us that they are compositionally distinct layers, and not just benches or terraces formed in uniform material by erosion or sublimation. A second view of this scarp from a different vantage point will be needed to obtain HiRISE stereo in order to determine the thickness of the layers, which measure 2 to 13 meters horizontally but are probably much thinner, depending on the slope of the surface.

This target was suggested by a member of the public via the HiWish image suggestion program.

Written by: Paul Geissler  (25 November 2024)