Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Flowing Barchan Sand Dunes on Mars

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for April 22, 2012 is “Flowing Barchan Sand Dunes on Mars,” an image. It is credited to Image Credit: HiRISE , MRO , LPL (U. Arizona) , NASA. The original explanation runs about 155 words.

Flowing Barchan Sand Dunes on Mars
Credit: Image Credit: HiRISE , MRO , LPL (U. Arizona) , NASA Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“When does Mars act like a liquid? Although liquids freeze and evaporate quickly into the thin atmosphere of Mars, persistent winds may make large sand dunes appear to flow and even drip like a liquid.”

— APOD editors, April 22, 2012

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
April 22, 2012
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit: HiRISE , MRO , LPL (U. Arizona) , NASA
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 155 words

All of April 2012 → · 2012 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Mars

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: April 22 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.