Noctis Labyrinthus
Image Not Available
Photograph
Noctis Labyrinthus
1976
Chromogenic development print
Image: 20.4 x 19.1 cm
Overall: 20.3 x 25.4 cm
Museum accession
Inscriptions verso (applied label, typed): NATIONAL AERONATICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION/ VIKING NEWS CENTER/ PASADENA, CALIFORNIA/ (213) 354-6000/ PHOTO CAPTION/ Viking 1-86/ P-18114 AC (Color)/ October 12, 1976/
As the sun rises over Noctis Labyrinthus (the labyrinth of the night), bright clouds/ of water ice can be observed in and around the tributary canyons of this high plateau/ region of Mars. This color composite image, reconstructed from three individual black/ and white frames taken through violet, green, and orange filters, vividly shows the/ distribution of clouds against the rust colored background of this Martian desert./ The picture was reconstructed by JPL's Image Processing Laboratory using in-flight/ calibration data to correct the color balance. Scientists have puzzled why the clouds/ cling to the canyon areas and, only in certain areas, spill over onto the plateau/ surface. One possibility is that water which condensed during the previous afternoon/ in shaded eastern facing slopes of the canyon floor is vaporized as the early morning/ sun falls on those same slopes. The area covered is about 10,000 square kilometers/ (4000 square miles), centered at 9° South, 95° West, and the large partial crater at/ lower right is Oudemans. The picture was taken on Viking Orbiter 1's 40th revolution/ of the planet.
As the sun rises over Noctis Labyrinthus (the labyrinth of the night), bright clouds/ of water ice can be observed in and around the tributary canyons of this high plateau/ region of Mars. This color composite image, reconstructed from three individual black/ and white frames taken through violet, green, and orange filters, vividly shows the/ distribution of clouds against the rust colored background of this Martian desert./ The picture was reconstructed by JPL's Image Processing Laboratory using in-flight/ calibration data to correct the color balance. Scientists have puzzled why the clouds/ cling to the canyon areas and, only in certain areas, spill over onto the plateau/ surface. One possibility is that water which condensed during the previous afternoon/ in shaded eastern facing slopes of the canyon floor is vaporized as the early morning/ sun falls on those same slopes. The area covered is about 10,000 square kilometers/ (4000 square miles), centered at 9° South, 95° West, and the large partial crater at/ lower right is Oudemans. The picture was taken on Viking Orbiter 1's 40th revolution/ of the planet.
