Ooooh. Pretty!

It’s been a while since I’ve longingly gazed at Nasa eyecandy. So perhaps that’s why these gorgeous photos of Mars took my breath away - or rather, slowed it down to a meditation-induced crawl. You don’t always know what you’re looking at but it sure is striking. And the captions give you some clues.

All together there are 45 images, the cream of the Mars expeditions’ crop. They are all worth your time.

The geography is akin to reading Tolkien where the names are all exotic but the feel for the place is palpable.

There’s the rainbow “Hebes Chasma region at the northwestern end of Valles Marinaris” (pictured above). There’s Mars’ south pole all covered in frozen carbon dioxide that’s referred to as the “swiss cheese terrain” for its mazes and pock marks. And then there’s the Chasma Boreale in the north pole where bands of dust and ice accumulate up year after year to look like the contour lines on a topographic map.

Otherworldly and gorgeous. Ideal for taking you away from your work and far out of the office for a spell.

Link: Mars as Art. Go!