A small level is used to see if the trail is tilted upward or downward. In most cases where a rock has moved, the trail is tilted very slightly uphill, but the interns don't think this has a noticeable effect on the movement. The compass is included for scale.
Photo credit: NASA/GSFC/Leva McIntire/LPSA intern
To read a feature story on the Racetrack Playa go to: www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/roving-rocks.html
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is home to the nation's largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists that build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study the Earth, the sun, our solar system, and the universe.
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