Posted on 01/19/2013 8:40:12 AM PST by null and void
The river is nearly 1,000 miles long and almost 1,000 feet deep at points
This image by the European Space Agency shows the Reull Vallis on Mars.
The European Space Agency announced Thursday that it has taken high-definition pictures of an ancient river nearly 1,000 miles long on Mars.
According to the report, the "striking" river also has "numerous tributaries" and is believed to be more than 4 miles wide and nearly 1,000 feet deep at some points. The agency believes that the river was carved by water between 1.8 and 3.5 billion years ago and went dry due to evaporation.
The agency has named the river Reull Vallis. The photos were taken with the ESA's Mars Express satellite last year.
This image shows the Reull Vallis, a nearly 1,000 mile long river on Mars discovered by the European Space Agency.
"The region shows a striking resemblance to the morphology found in regions on Earth affected by glaciation," the ESA said in a statement. The discovery is "giving planetary geologists tantalizing glimpses of a past on the Red Planet not too dissimilar to events on our own world."
In September, NASA announced that its Curiosity Rover had discovered evidence of an "ancient stream" that "once ran vigorously" near the Gale Crater that the rover is exploring. According to that report, the stream may have been several feet deep.
We need to get Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ass to mars.
Already have found a good fishin’ spot. Now I need to find a way to Mars and get the water flowing again in the river.
Pretty cool find though.
I know Mars is extremely dry, yet given the frequent planet wide dust storms thereon, I’d expect considerably more erosion and burial from between 1.8 and 3.5 billion years.
Right. The surrounding terrain is pocked with craters. I see none in the riverbed.
Ping!
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Even the rivers go on strike? No wonder everyone left Mars so long ago.
:’D
Pics of Reull Vallis from 2004:
http://spaceinimages.esa.int/Images/2004/12/Perspective_view_of_Reull_Vallis_looking_south-east
large:
http://spaceinimages.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2004/12/perspective_view_of_reull_vallis_looking_south-east/10215032-2-eng-GB/Perspective_view_of_Reull_Vallis_looking_south-east.tif
http://spaceinimages.esa.int/Images/2004/12/Perspective_view_of_Reull_Vallis_looking_west
large:
http://spaceinimages.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2004/12/perspective_view_of_reull_vallis_looking_west/9705567-3-eng-GB/Perspective_view_of_Reull_Vallis_looking_west.tif
from 2013:
http://spaceinimages.esa.int/Images/2013/01/Perspective_view_of_Reull_Vallis
large:
http://esamultimedia.esa.int/images/marsexpress/UpperReullVallis_Perspective2.tif
Hemispheres Apart: The Crustal Dichotomy on Mars [2007]
Thomas R. Watters, Patrick J. McGovern, and Rossman P. Irwin III
http://meteorite.unm.edu/site_media/pdf/Dichotomy.pdf
Mars
http://nineplanets.org/mars.html
...Tharsis: a huge bulge on the Martian surface that is about 4000 km across and 10 km high. Valles Marineris: a system of canyons 4000 km long and from 2 to 7 km deep... The southern hemisphere of Mars is predominantly ancient cratered highlands somewhat similar to the Moon. In contrast, most of the northern hemisphere consists of plains which are much younger, lower in elevation and have a much more complex history. An abrupt elevation change of several kilometers seems to occur at the boundary. The reasons for this global dichotomy and abrupt boundary are unknown (some speculate that they are due to a very large impact shortly after Mars’ accretion)... Mars appears to lack active plate tectonics at present... With no lateral plate motion, hot-spots under the crust stay in a fixed position relative to the surface. This, along with the lower surface gravity, may account for the Tharis bulge and its enormous volcanoes. There is no evidence of current volcanic activity... Valles Marineris was NOT created by running water. It was formed by the stretching and cracking of the crust associated with the creation of the Tharsis bulge.
Surface Of Mars
http://library.thinkquest.org/5661/surface.htm
The Tharsis bulge has had a profound effect on the appearance of the surface of Mars. The Tharsis bulge includes many smaller volcanoes and stress fractures, in addition to the large volcanoes. Its presence affects the weather on Mars and may have changed the climate by changing the rotation of the planet. Valles Marineris (named for the U.S. Mariner spacecraft that discovered it) is the most notable stress feature associated with the Tharsis bulge. It is a Great Rift Valley extending from the Tharsis region away to the east-southeast. It is about the same length as the distance from New York to California. This canyon system reaches widths of 440 miles and depths of 4 miles. Hellas Planitia is a giant impact basin in the Southern Hemisphere. The impact of a large meteorite formed the basin long ago. With a diameter of about 1250 miles, it is the largest such basin on Mars.
http://webgis.wr.usgs.gov/pigwad/down/mars_crater_consortium.htm
Clay Deposits Don’t Prove Existence of Ancient Martian Lakes
Universe Today | Monday, September 10, 2012 | Jason Major
Posted on 09/17/2012 3:05:37 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2932496/posts
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