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Mars orbiter spots changes on Red Planet
AP ^ | 9/20/5

Posted on 09/20/2005 4:12:58 PM PDT by SmithL

Pasadena, Calif. (AP) --

The Martian surface has undergone dramatic changes in the last few years with the appearance of new gullies and fresh boulder tracks, new images released Tuesday show.

The photos, taken by the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, suggest that the Red Planet is perhaps more active than previously thought.

The spacecraft, in its ninth year in orbit, spotted two fresh gullies on a Martian sand dune that were not present in 2002. Scientists think the gullies might have formed when frozen carbon dioxide trapped by windblown sand vaporized, releasing gas that made the sand freely flow.

The spacecraft also took images of boulder tracks at another site that were not there two years ago. The tracks were probably caused by dozens of boulders rolling down a slope as a result of strong wind or quake, scientists said.

Researchers also found that new impact craters that formed since the 1970s suggest it's a slow-forming process,

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Astronomy; Science
KEYWORDS: mars
It's Bush's fault for not signing Kyoto.
1 posted on 09/20/2005 4:12:58 PM PDT by SmithL
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To: SmithL
Yup. Bush's failure to sign Kyoto has led to Solar System Warming.
2 posted on 09/20/2005 4:37:25 PM PDT by Yo-Yo
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To: SmithL

3 posted on 09/20/2005 4:57:29 PM PDT by RippleFire ("It's a joke, son!")
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To: SmithL
Two fresh gullies on a Martian sand dune.

These two gullies, then, must be "Bush's Fault", seen in the center right of the picture. He shoulda listened to Al Gore...


4 posted on 09/20/2005 5:53:35 PM PDT by melt ( Someday they'll wish their Jihad... Jihadn't.)
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To: KevinDavis

?


5 posted on 09/20/2005 10:44:42 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Down with Dhimmicrats! I last updated by FR profile on Sunday, August 14, 2005.)
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To: SmithL

Sounds a whole lot like earthly symptoms, doesn't it? hmmmm...


6 posted on 09/21/2005 5:32:22 AM PDT by lrb111
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'Four-billion-year chill' on Mars
BBC | 7/21/05 | David Whitehouse
Posted on 07/21/2005 1:57:09 PM PDT by LibWhacker
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1447845/posts


7 posted on 09/21/2005 9:50:14 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Down with Dhimmicrats! I last updated by FR profile on Sunday, August 14, 2005.)
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