News in Science

Outback icon spectacular from space

Uluru rocks This stunning image of Uluru in the Australian outback was taken by the Korean Kompsat-2 satellite at an altitude of 685 kilometres.

From this angle, it looks like the top of Uluru has been scarred by a hundred parallel cuts.

Uluru is made up of coarse-grained arkose (a type of sandstone) that was laid down in horizontal layers. These layers eventually hardened, were uplifted and then tilted almost 90 degrees upwards to their present position.

The satellite image clearly shows how these once horizontal layers now run perpendicular to the ground and appear to cut across the top of the formation.

Uluru didn't always have its famous, rusty-red appearance — when relatively young the rock would have looked grey in colour, but millions of years of weathering of iron-bearing minerals through oxidation have given it its signature colour.

Uluru is sacred to the traditional Anangu people of the area and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

How did Uluru form?