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The NASA spacecraft captured this black and white image of Mars in orbit on July 21, 2019. The astronomers of the University of Arizona have distinguished it for presenting what appears to be a large dandelion flower. The photo was taken earlier this year by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft. The NASA spacecraft took the picture flying over approximately 275.4 km above the surface of the planet.
Unfortunately, dandelion is not a rare foreign plant growing in the arid Martian desert.
Instead, it is a crater of significant impact with lateral flows simulating the petals of a flower.
Veronica Bray, from the University of Arizona, said, "This observation originally aimed to visualize the" contact "between two types of terrain: a rocky ridge separates the rugged left from the left, rougher.
"But when planning, a targeting specialist chose to extend the image further north – up – to capture a nearby crater.
READ MORE: These are the most breathtaking photos of the red planet
"Extending images for extra coverage is a common practice when the volume of data allows it."
The black and white photo of the MRO is about 5 km long.
The photo was taken with the HiRISE instrument (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) operated by the University of Arizona.
Dr. Bray said, "This extension has given us extra beauty.
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"The steep walls of the crater are covered with sloping trails formed by materials falling towards the center of the crater.
"There are so many in this case that the crater is reminiscent of a delicate 'dandelion clock'.
"Looking closer, we can also say that the exposed layering gives more information about the basement of Mars."
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reconnaissance satellite was launched to the Red Planet on August 12, 2005 and is operated by the space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
READ MORE: An avalanche on Mars raises clouds of dust in this beautiful photo
Some facts about the red planet Mars:
1. A single day on the red planet lasts about 24 hours and 37 minutes.
2. A 100-pounder on Earth would only weigh about 38 pounds on the red planet.
3. Compared to Mars, the gravitational force on Earth is 2.66 times stronger.
4. One year on Mars lasts a total of 687 terrestrial days.
5. The red planet does not have one but two odd-shaped moons.
6. Mars appears in red because its soil is rich in oxidized rust.
7. Mars has a tiny atmosphere composed of carbon dioxide, argon, nitrogen and water vapor.
8. The red planet remains the only world to which NASA has sent rovers.
9. The first mission to successfully reach Mars was Mariner's flight over in 1965.
10. Mars revolves around the Sun from a distance of about 228 million kilometers.
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