Circular sand dunes found on Mars, NASA photographs unusual structure

Washington: NASA spacecraft Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has photographed unusual images of circular sand dunes on the red planet. The images were taken with the High-Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRise) colour camera.

Planetary geologist Alfred McEwen said sand dunes of many shapes and sizes are common on Mars. But these sand dunes are almost perfectly circular which experts find odd. Some are also slightly asymmetrical with steep slip faces on the south ends. This shows that the sand generally moves to the south but the winds may be variable.

Researchers are currently studying the area to monitor seasonal changes in frost coverage. "The recent picture is part of a series of images to monitor how frost disappears in the late winter."

Mars is perfect for sand dune formation due to the presence of dust, sand, and wind. Experts often draw parallels between the dunes of Mars and Earth's sand dunes.