By: ArtAlienTV-Gigapans
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona ⧉
Subject: ArtAlienTV
License: Copyright, All Rights Reserved

Uploaded: 11 Sep 2025
Last Updated: 11 Sep 2025

78 megapixels
15,507 x 5,047 pixels
51.7 in X 16.8 in at 300dpi
0 pixels per inch

This image shows an impact crater in southern Elysium Planitia. This area was covered by a large flood of lava, which we see as the generally flat areas surrounding the crater. As the lava flowed across, some of it flowed into this crater through a low spot along the crater rim. Once in the crater, the lava heated ground water or ground ice in the floor, causing the water to boil and turn into steam. This steam then exploded through the overlying lava and created small, ring-shaped formations. These are called ”rootless cones,” and they record the presence of ground water or ground ice in the crater floor at the time of the lava eruptions. Written by: Chris Okubo (11 September 2025) This is a stereo pair with ESP_088836_1810. https://www.uahirise.org/ESP_088836_1810