Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

White Rock Fingers on Mars

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for February 15, 2016 is “White Rock Fingers on Mars,” an image. It is credited to Image Credit: THEMIS , Mars Odyssey Team, ASU , JPL , NASA. The original explanation runs about 123 words.

White Rock Fingers on Mars
Credit: Image Credit: THEMIS , Mars Odyssey Team, ASU , JPL , NASA Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“What caused this unusual light rock formation on Mars? Intrigued by the possibility that they could be salt deposits left over as an ancient lakebed dried-up , detailed studies of these fingers now indicate a more mundane possibility: volcanic ash .”

— APOD editors, February 15, 2016

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
February 15, 2016
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit: THEMIS , Mars Odyssey Team, ASU , JPL , NASA
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 123 words

All of February 2016 → · 2016 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Mars

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: February 15 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.