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Weird Geological Features Spied On Mars

Posted by Soulskill on from the probably-caramel-bubbling-up-to-the-surface dept.

astroengine writes "The High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera carried by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted a strange geological feature that, for now, defies an obvious explanation. Found at the southern edge of Acidalia Planitia, small pits with raised edges appear to hug a long ridge. So far, mission scientists have ruled out impact craters and wind as formation processes, but have pegged the most likely cause to be glacial in nature."

2 of 99 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Fault line? by Ceriel+Nosforit · · Score: 3, Informative

    No tectonics. The planet's core is supposed to be frozen, because it it so much smaller than Earth.

    --
    All rites reversed 2010
  2. Re:Didn't A.C. Clarke note this spot? by cuncator · · Score: 3, Informative

    Archive.org to the rescue. Maybe the 9-June-2003 issue of Marsbugs (#23), page 5, "Martian Spiders"?: http://web.archive.org/web/20080725114636/http://www.lyon.edu/projects/marsbugs/volume10old.html

    Man, just realized how long ago Spirit and Opportunity were.