Zooniverse

Abstract:

This paper documents the seventeenth data release (DR17) from the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys; the fifth and final release from the fourth phase (SDSS-IV). DR17 contains the complete release of the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey, which reached its goal of surveying over 10,000 nearby galaxies. The complete release of the MaNGA Stellar Library accompanies this data, providing observations of almost 30,000 stars through the MaNGA instrument during bright time. DR17 also contains the complete release of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 survey that publicly releases infrared spectra of over 650,000 stars. The main sample from the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS), as well as the subsurvey Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey data were fully released in DR16. New single-fiber optical spectroscopy released in DR17 is from the SPectroscipic IDentification of ERosita Survey subsurvey and the eBOSS-RM program. Along with the primary data sets, DR17 includes 25 new or updated value-added catalogs. This paper concludes the release of SDSS-IV survey data. SDSS continues into its fifth phase with observations already underway for the Milky Way Mapper, Local Volume Mapper, and Black Hole Mapper surveys.

Abstract:

Abstract For the first time, model-derived and imagery-derived wind directions and speeds have been compared in Mars’s south polar region. Seasonal fan-shaped deposits are routinely observed by HiRISE in the polar regions. They are widely accepted to result from CO2 gas jet eruptions. Fan lengths, sizes, and shapes can provide information about wind directions and strengths at the times such eruptions occur. We utilize a catalog of those fan-shaped deposits, marked by citizen scientists within the framework of the Planet Four (P4) project, at 27 regions of interest (ROIs) for two spring seasons (Mars years 29 and 30). Fans change considerably from one HiRISE image to another at most of these ROIs as wind direction changes over the spring season. Leveraging this characteristic, intraseasonal variations in near-surface wind speeds and directions were retrieved and compared to near-surface winds predicted by a mesoscale atmospheric model (MRAMS) at the same ROIs. At most ROIs P4-inferred wind directions are consistent with those from MRAMS. The P4-derived wind speeds are less constrained but are consistent with MRAMS wind speeds at the majority of ROIs. The overall consistency between the P4-inferred and MRAMS wind directions supports the underlying assumption that fan formation is controlled by the wind and is not simply due to ballistic trajectories of material exiting suitably nonvertical vents. Measurements of seasonal fan-shaped deposits in HiRISE imagery can thus provide important intraseasonal information about near-surface winds—invaluable for both validating climate modeling and quantitatively investigating Mars’s polar processes.