NASA explains Blue sand dune on the Red Planet

When you think of Mars you most certainly don't think of any color other than red. It's called the Red Planet for a reason. Recently the Mars Renaissance Orbiter spied something on the surface of Mars that isn't red in images. The blue streak was discovered using the HiRISE camera that is described as the most powerful camera ever sent to another planet.

The blue sand dune is technical gray, but an editing process makes colors and lines standout. If the editing process wasn't performed all humans would see is gray. The special camera aboard the orbiter can capture lots of detail, but the dust on the planet makes it impossible to see everything from orbit.

To allow more detail to be seen, NASA uses three different images taken of the same area and colors are adjusted individually to red, blue, and green using infrared tech. The image's turquoise blue color is due to it being made of a finer material or having a different composition than the surrounding area.

The three images are combined due to the very low contrast of the individual images. The dune in the image was found on Lyot Crater where most dues are crescent-shaped. The reason for that shape is because they face the wind. NASA has no real answer as to why the blue dune is more abstract than others.

While the orbiter circles Mars in relative comfort, the rovers cruising the surface have bigger challenges. A massive dust storm has been circling the planet this month. That storm has left the fate of the NASA Opportunity rover in question.

SOURCE: CNN