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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Layered Rocks near Mount Sharp on Mars
Explanation: What caused these Martian rocks to be layered? The leading hypothesis is an ancient Martian lake that kept evaporating and refilling over 10 million years -- but has now remained dry and empty of water for billions of years. The featured image , taken last November by the robotic Curiosity rover , shows one-meter wide Whale Rock which is part of the Pahrump Hills outcrop at the base of Mount Sharp . Also evident in the image is cross-bedding -- rock with angled layers -- which were likely facilitated by waves of sand . Curiosity continues to find many layered rocks like this as it continues to roll around and up 5.5-km high Mount Sharp .
| Date | February 9, 2015 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Image Credit: NASA , JPL-Caltech , MSSS |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |