Bring on the conspiracy theories: Were the ripples in these
Martian dunes created by wind, water, or a highbrow alien
aesthete? Either way, these photos from NASA’s High Resolution
Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera prove that space
photos don’t have to just be evaluated on their technical and
scientific value. They can also be beautiful. The HiRISE camera
is mounted on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), which took
the lead snap inside an impact crater in the Noachis Terra
region of southern Mars. As lovely as they are, the erosion
patterns evidenced by the dunes help NASA scientists develop the
sedimentary history of the region. The enhanced-color lead image
clearly shows the wind-caused (sorry tin-hat folks) dunes with
insane clarity: It covers an area about an entire kilometer
across. This photo shows a fan-shaped deposit that starts where
the channel enters a crater. Does it look familiar? It’s
suggestive of a delta, which would only be caused by a flowing
river. What’s really cool is that the