A rash on Mars
Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, rotated, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on January 30, 2023 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The science team labeled this a “Circular Outcrop of Bright Rock.
What I see is a Martian skin rash. Based on the ripple pattern below the ridge one might think we are looking at sand dunes, except that the rash above the cliff has no such pattern. Instead, the ground in this one particular area looks very roughened in a random sort of way.
The location at 27 degrees south latitude suggests there is little near surface ice at this location to cause this feature. The overview map below provides another but not very helpful possibility.
The black cross west of Daedalia Planum marks this location, just beyond the main flood lava plains that surround Mars’ biggest volcanoes on the Tharsis Bulge. This particular area is also covered extensively with lava, but the many north-south ridges suggest wrinkle ridges that rose up when the surface contracted at some point in the past.
Another possible cause of the ridges would be lava dikes, where lava flows up through a fissure.
Either way, the flowing of lava might have had something to do with this rash, but I certainly cannot come up with any theory to explain it. We need a real planetary geologist for that.
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In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
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Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, rotated, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on January 30, 2023 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The science team labeled this a “Circular Outcrop of Bright Rock.
What I see is a Martian skin rash. Based on the ripple pattern below the ridge one might think we are looking at sand dunes, except that the rash above the cliff has no such pattern. Instead, the ground in this one particular area looks very roughened in a random sort of way.
The location at 27 degrees south latitude suggests there is little near surface ice at this location to cause this feature. The overview map below provides another but not very helpful possibility.
The black cross west of Daedalia Planum marks this location, just beyond the main flood lava plains that surround Mars’ biggest volcanoes on the Tharsis Bulge. This particular area is also covered extensively with lava, but the many north-south ridges suggest wrinkle ridges that rose up when the surface contracted at some point in the past.
Another possible cause of the ridges would be lava dikes, where lava flows up through a fissure.
Either way, the flowing of lava might have had something to do with this rash, but I certainly cannot come up with any theory to explain it. We need a real planetary geologist for that.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Robert,
The text in the overview map probably should read “Starship landing zone.” I think you have a minor typo.
Perhaps the circularity of the “rash” means something (allergies?). It follows the topography of the terrain, covering rises and hills as well as dips, and many or most of the crater features are also filled with the rash, which suggests to me that the rash may be a relatively new feature, geologically speaking. There are quite a few craters in the surrounding area, suggesting that the general terrain is not young.
These cool images of Mars, a couple of hundred per year, show us that once mankind gets there, we will have so very much exploration to do.
Edward: Thank you. Error in overview map has been fixed.