                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2025 March 23
   Rocks and brown sand occupy this horizontally compressed image of Mars.
   At the top is a light colored peak. Please see the explanation for more
                            detailed information.

                       Ancient Ogunquit Beach on Mars
           Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, MSSS, Curiosity Rover

   Explanation: This was once a beach -- on ancient Mars. The featured
   360-degree panorama, horizontally compressed, was taken in 2017 by the
   robotic Curiosity rover that explored the red planet. Named Ogunquit
   Beach after its terrestrial counterpart, evidence shows that at times
   long ago the area was underwater, while at other times it was at the
   edge of an ancient lake. The light peak in the central background is
   the top of Mount Sharp, the central feature in Gale Crater where
   Curiosity explored. Portions of the dark sands in the foreground were
   scooped up for analysis. The light colored bedrock is composed of
   sediment that likely settled at the bottom of the now-dried lakebed.
   The featured panorama (interactive version here) was created from over
   100 images and seemingly signed by the rover on the lower left.

                     Tomorrow's picture: moon goes dark
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

