Posted on 03/09/2014 12:57:07 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Explanation: What created this unusual hole in Mars? The hole was discovered by chance in 2011 on images of the dusty slopes of Mars' Pavonis Mons volcano taken by the HiRISE instrument aboard the robotic Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter currently circling Mars. The hole appears to be an opening to an underground cavern, partly illuminated on the image right. Analysis of this and follow-up images revealed the opening to be about 35 meters across, while the interior shadow angle indicates that the underlying cavern is roughly 20 meters deep. Why there is a circular crater surrounding this hole remains a topic of speculation, as is the full extent of the underlying cavern. Holes such as this are of particular interest because their interior caves are relatively protected from the harsh surface of Mars, making them relatively good candidates to contain Martian life. These pits are therefore prime targets for possible future spacecraft, robots, and even human interplanetary explorers.
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
[Credit: NASA, JPL, U. Arizona]
Every picture I have seen of the Martian Surface is a rusty greyish reddish brown color, with lots and lots of rocks.
That picture doesn’t look like Mars at all...is it in the Polar Region?
I wondered that myself.
Almost looks like something blasted out from under the surface than fell from the Martian sky like a meteorite.............Just speculating.
Hmm, this sez it’s on the equator.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavonis_Mons
Image:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Tharsis_Quadrangle_map-la.svg
I’m guessing its a collapsed lava tube under loose sand.
Looks like the death star.
Interesting
- Molachs
I’m inclined to wonder if there was a mass of ice which got buried, then melted out, and the void created what is basically a sinkhole. This is referred to as a lava tube, but I’ll stick with my idea, since Mars shows only the (alleged) traces of very ancient past volcanism, and this appears “fresh”.
Cool illusion of what at first looks like an elevated mount ... the lighting angle & shadows dictate that it’s actually a depression.
Nahhh, Kit Draper's home.
A Hole in Mars...Jeeez!!!... Is Obama up there also? Lord, were doomed.
Nice little sketch of a doodlebug/ant lion trap there, Ruy.
Wd have to be really big to create that hole on Mars, though.
Quick! They need to RAISE TAXES A.S.A.P. in order to prevent imminent destruction within the next 10 years!!!!
When I first saw the subject, A Hole in Mars, I thought it was another post about Shelia Jackson Lee.
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