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Martian Racetracks

Posted by michael on from the because-of-all-the-sandwiches-there dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The European Mars Express spacecraft has released stunning images of 'yardangs': racetrack-like grooves eroded from an otherwise flat plain without obstacles. The terrain in high resolution is shown near the largest volcano in our solar system, Olympus Mons. Notable in the image is an abrupt left turn like the beginnings of a curved terrace."

18 comments

  1. Fingerprint? by solitarian · · Score: 0

    It looks like someone left a fingerprint on the lens of the camera to me.

  2. That's a whole lot of water! by FedeTXF · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Imagine the kind of planet Mars was once. The amount of liquid water once flowing is amazing.

    1. Re:That's a whole lot of water! by snake_dad · · Score: 1
      From SpaceRef:
      "Loose sand fragments were transported by wind, and impacted on the bedrock, slowly removing parts of the surface, like a sand-blaster. If the winds blow in the same direction for a long enough period, 'wind-lanes', as shown in the picture, can occur."
      So probably no water involved in the creating this beautiful piece of Martian surface.
      --
      karma capped .sig seeking available Slashdot poster for long-term relationship.
    2. Re:That's a whole lot of water! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Imagine the kind of planet Mars was once. The amount of liquid water once flowing is amazing.

      These are WIND CRAFTED features.
      They are caused by WINDBOURNE SAND sandblasting the hell out of the surface.

      You can find them in deserts on Earth, and high wind areas.

      The SPHINX in Egypt is thought to be at its core a yardang that was sculpted into it's current features.

  3. Martian Racetrack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I, for one, welcome our new Nascar Martian Overloads.

    1. Re:Martian Racetrack by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      "I, for one, welcome our new Nascar Martian Overloads." ... getting picked off by sand people on the side of the track...

      --
      "Derp de derp."
  4. Yay! Pod racing! by Spudley · · Score: 1

    I wanna drive a pod racer round that track. :-D

    --
    (Spudley Strikes Again!)
  5. Stunning? by elijahao · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The grooves mentioned don't look like they have anything to do with the landscape. Some of the lines move across more "real" looking features. The lines look too regular, and can be seen across too many different parts of the picture. (The closer you look, the more you can see these lines)

    I would interpret them as compression anomalies until I saw multiple images of the same thing from different angles.

    Another thing that was interesting is that each pixel of the photograph is 20m across.

    Finally, if you look closely, at the lower right part of the flat spot in question you see similar patterns that are white instead of black in nature. If they were physical grooves, you would see the proper shadows of the ones going up and down in the picture, but when the grooves turned to run right to left they would be less visible.

    1. Re:Stunning? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      I too would attribute the 'swirlies' to either a compression or moire pattern.

      Although if you look at the bottom flat spot, you will notice that the lines make a nice tight circle with other lines flowing around it. Looks partialy like scrapping of Dust Devils to me. The irragular flow of air and heat over the flat parts might lend to their formation...

    2. Re:Stunning? by Madcapjack · · Score: 1

      Yes, the swirly lines don't really look like a feature of the landscape. I'll hold judgement, though, until I hear a reputable scientist talk about it.

      --
      Logic, macros, and more
  6. Moire pattern? by j1m+5n0w · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It looks rather like a moire pattern.

    jim

  7. Spaceballs? by pio!pio! · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Comb the desert!~!!" "We ain't found shxt!!"

    1. Re:Spaceballs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      but at least now you got one fine looking desert

  8. This is obviously... by Madcapjack · · Score: 1
    This is obviously evidence of an ancient interstellar overlords doing planetary strip mining. Damn, can't even our beloved overlords act with some respect for the environment!

    It makes me damn hostile!

    --
    Logic, macros, and more
  9. yet another misleading slashdot article by SuperBanana · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...and the Astrobiology Magazine writeup wasn't any better. Siiigh. If you were expecting ovals or road course, I hate to disappoint.

    The images show nothing more than long straight canyons/valleys, all running in the same direction because the wind blows that way for long periods of time.

    The image of the little blue-suited astronaut inspecting the curious tracks is also grossly out of scale. They're the size of large hills, not a few inches wide:

    This image was taken during orbit 143 with a resolution of 20 meters per pixel.

    --
    Please help metamoderate.
    1. Re:yet another misleading slashdot article by Bowling+Moses · · Score: 1

      You've obviously never been to Kansas.

  10. Evidence for the cross-seeding theory mounts! by Troy · · Score: 2, Funny

    The Martians were as crazy about Nascar as we are.

  11. About that abrupt left turn... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Looks an awful lot like a fingerprint.