This view from Monument Valley shows the famous buttes in the foreground. The buttes are composed of hard rock left behind after water eroded away the surrounding soft rock. The two buttes on the left of the image are the Mittens, with Merrick Butte on the right.

The planet Mars is at the left of the skyscape, a glowing beacon of orange that is the brightest object in the frame. To the right of Mars lies the constellation of Orion. Betelgeuse is the reddish star near the center and the Belt of Orion and the Orion Nebula are farther right. Finally, the bright blue star Rigel appears above Merrick Butte in this stunning view.

Monument Valley by Wally Pacholka

The photo was taken by Wally Pacholka, a photographer with a talent for capturing wonderful collaborations between national parks and the stars.

His technique? A standard 50mm lens mounted on a tripod, exposures of sometimes up to a minute, and patience to get the right shot.

The distinctive geological features of Monument Valley here on Earth, the mesas and buttes, are instantly recognisable.

It’s no surprise then that when the Mars Global Surveyor took the image below, on the Elysium Plains, approximately 300 kilometers (~185 miles) south of the Cerberus region in the Martian eastern hemisphere  in 2000, it was quickly dubbed the “Martian Monument Valley.”

Uneroded rock can be seen to the top of the image, forming a flat upland area. The mesas and buttes formed with erosion of the layered bedrock, much as they did on Earth.

Martian Monument Valley

Photo: NASA/JPL/MSSS