February 18, 2003
The universe has spent billions of years making things that shine. On your birthday, we celebrate one of its quieter masterpieces.
Candor and Ophir Chasmata
Birthday · February 18, 2003
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published February 18, 2003. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
First imaged by the Mariner 9 spacecraft, Valles Marineris, the grand canyon of Mars, is a system of enormous depressions called chasmata that stretch some 4,000 kilometers along the Martian equator. Looking north over the canyon's central regions, Candor chasma lies in the foreground of this spectacular view with the steep walls of Ophir chasma near the top. Surface collapse and landslides are seen to be part of the complex geologic history of these dramatic features but recent high resolution images have also revealed layered deposits within the canyon system. This picture represents a mosaic of images recorded in 1978 from Martian orbit by the Viking 1 and 2 spacecraft. The full width of the picture covers about 800 kilometers.