A crack on Mars more than 600 miles long
Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, cropped and reduced to post here, was taken on March 29, 2024 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).
The science team labels this “troughs in Labeatis Fossae.” On Mars, the word “fossae” is used to indicate regions where there are a lot of parallel fissures. Though there are a few examples where such fissures might have been caused by the movement of ice or water, carving out the channel, in almost all cases this is not the cause. Instead, fossae are usually formed when the surface stretches, either because underground upward pressure pulls it apart, or because there is a sideways spread at the surface. The resulting cracks are generally considered what geologists call “grabens,” depressions caused at faultlines when the ground on either side moves apart in some manner.
In this case the break in the trough proves this is a graben, though why it broke at this spot is not clear.
The black dot on the overview map to the right marks the location, almost in the center of this approximately 600-mile-long fissure, which is one of many similar long fissures that form Labeatis Fossae and are found to the south of the low-lying shield volcano Labeatis Mons.
While at first glance one might think these cracks were due to that volcano, the larger picture says no. Instead, it appears both the cracks and the volcano were produced by a much larger geological event, related to the 3,500-mile-long crack that aligns with three of Mars’ biggest volcanoes, and also produced numerous other parallel cracks in this region.
Though the actual cause remains unknown, there is the possibility that the cracks and volcanoes on this side of Mars exist because of the impact that created Hellas Basin on the other side of Mars. This hypothesis is pure speculation on my part, but I am quite sure it has occurred to a number of planetary scientists. To prove it however it will be necessary to date in great detail samples from both locations, something that is not going to happen until human geologists are walking the planet.
A minor side detail: The blue dots at the top of four of the volcanoes are where scientists analyzing orbital data have detected frost.
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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.
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Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, cropped and reduced to post here, was taken on March 29, 2024 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).
The science team labels this “troughs in Labeatis Fossae.” On Mars, the word “fossae” is used to indicate regions where there are a lot of parallel fissures. Though there are a few examples where such fissures might have been caused by the movement of ice or water, carving out the channel, in almost all cases this is not the cause. Instead, fossae are usually formed when the surface stretches, either because underground upward pressure pulls it apart, or because there is a sideways spread at the surface. The resulting cracks are generally considered what geologists call “grabens,” depressions caused at faultlines when the ground on either side moves apart in some manner.
In this case the break in the trough proves this is a graben, though why it broke at this spot is not clear.
The black dot on the overview map to the right marks the location, almost in the center of this approximately 600-mile-long fissure, which is one of many similar long fissures that form Labeatis Fossae and are found to the south of the low-lying shield volcano Labeatis Mons.
While at first glance one might think these cracks were due to that volcano, the larger picture says no. Instead, it appears both the cracks and the volcano were produced by a much larger geological event, related to the 3,500-mile-long crack that aligns with three of Mars’ biggest volcanoes, and also produced numerous other parallel cracks in this region.
Though the actual cause remains unknown, there is the possibility that the cracks and volcanoes on this side of Mars exist because of the impact that created Hellas Basin on the other side of Mars. This hypothesis is pure speculation on my part, but I am quite sure it has occurred to a number of planetary scientists. To prove it however it will be necessary to date in great detail samples from both locations, something that is not going to happen until human geologists are walking the planet.
A minor side detail: The blue dots at the top of four of the volcanoes are where scientists analyzing orbital data have detected frost.
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.
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