Image Gallery: finely layered rocks near Jocko Butte

Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Some great new images of very finely layered rocks near Jocko Butte on sol 976, from Curiosity. The layers tell a geological story of alternating wet conditions in this area on Mars a long time ago. These thin, delicate layers are an amazing sight! All of the raw images from Curiosity can be seen here.

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Image Gallery: Martian sunset and Lindbergh rock mound

Sunset in Gale crater, as seen by the M-34 and M-100 Mastcam cameras on Curiosity. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/James Sorenson
Sunset in Gale crater, as seen by the M-34 and M-100 Mastcam cameras on Curiosity. The bluish sunsets are uniquely Martian, the opposite of sunsets on Earth. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/James Sorenson

Two new beautiful composite images, from two different rovers and locations on Mars. The first is a sunset in Gale crater, taken by Curiosity. Martian sunsets look bluish due to the light scattering effects of reddish dust in the atmosphere. The other image, from Opportunity, is of the scenic Lindbergh rock mound in the Spirit of St. Louis crater, on the rim of the huge Endeavour crater. A natural monument!

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Image Gallery: first colour photo of Pluto from New Horizons

The first colour photo of Pluto and its largest moon Charon taken by New Horizons. Photo Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
The first colour photo of Pluto and its largest moon Charon taken by New Horizons on April 9, 2015. The spacecraft will make its closest approach on July 14, 2015. Photo Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

This is the first colour photo of the dwarf planet Pluto and its largest moon Charon taken by the New Horizons spacecraft. It was taken on April 9, 2015, from a distance of about 71 million 115 million kilometers (71 million miles).

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