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Sand dunes are not uncommon on the surface of Mars. However, during observations to see how the frost from winter melts on the planet, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured images of strange Martian dunes that appear almost completely circular. This almost perfectly circular appearance is unusual, which has sparked the interest of NASA and astronomers worldwide.

According to NASA’s page detailing the image, the strange Martian dunes appear to have steeper sides on the south side. NASA says this is because the windows on Mars generally move towards the south. Of course, they can vary, but the effect is clearly seen in these images, where the southern side of the circular dunes is steeper.

The images of these strange Martian dunes were made possible thanks to the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), an instrument on the MRO. HiRISE is the largest and the most powerful camera that humanity has ever sent to another planet, and it has delivered exceptional observations about the surface of the Red Planet.

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Communicating with far-off Mars is hard, but new satellite arrangements could make things easier for future missions.

A few years from now, a small radio telescope on the far side of the moon could help scientists peer into the universe’s ancient past.

The moon instrument, called the Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment-Night (LuSEE-Night), is a pathfinder being developed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories, the Space Science Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, and NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.

A project to map the earliest structures of the universe has found 15,000 more galaxies in its first snapshot than captured in an entire deep field survey conducted 20 years ago.

The James Webb Space Telescope, the new preeminent observatory in the sky, saw about 25,000 galaxies in that single image, dramatically surpassing the nearly 10,000 shown in the Hubble Space Telescope’s Ultra Deep Field Survey (Opens in a new tab). Scientists say that little piece of the space pie represents just four percent of the data they’ll discover from the new Webb survey by the time it’s completed next year.

“When it is finished, this deep field will be astoundingly large and overwhelmingly beautiful,” said Caitlin Casey, a University of Texas at Austin astronomer co-leading the investigation, in a statement (Opens in a new tab).

Learning that your whole life is a lie while you’re trapped in space is a tough combo.

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Sand dunes of many shapes and sizes are common on Mars. In this example, the dunes are almost perfectly circular, which is unusual. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona.

Sand dunes of many shapes and sizes are common on Mars.

Mars is the second smallest planet in our solar system and the fourth planet from the sun. It is a dusty, cold, desert world with a very thin atmosphere. Iron oxide is prevalent in Mars’ surface resulting in its reddish color and its nickname “The Red Planet.” Mars’ name comes from the Roman god of war.