Ice-filled Martian sinkhole
Click for full image.
Cool image time! The pit shown in the high resolution photo to the right (image rotated, cropped, and reduced to post here) was taken on January 25, 2021 and labeled by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) “Collapse Pit in Graben with Ice Fill.”
There is a lot of information in that title. First, a graben is a geological feature where a section of terrain drops relative to the surrounding terrain, producing a depression. Second, it appears the graben in this region is mostly filled with debris, probably wind-blown dust or sand or volcanic ash.
Third, at this particular spot the filling material sank, like a sinkhole on Earth, creating the pit.
And fourth, and maybe most intriguing, the scientists think that this pit is now filled with ice. At 47 degrees north latitude, the location is prime for such ice, and the interior material resembles similar glacial features seen in many other mid-latitude craters.
The black box in the overview map to the right marks the location of this pit. Note the long fissures running to the northeast from the shield volcano Alba Mons. It is thought as this volcano bulged upward, it caused these fissures as the ground expanded by the pressure from below. The fissures are the graben referenced above.
Though the fissure at this location is mostly filled, the sinkhole suggests that there may be voids below. If so, there is the chance that an underground facility could be build here, protected from radiation and the harsh swings of temperature on the surface. Digging into it and creating a stable habitat within it might not be easy, however, as the fill material is likely structurally weak. It might be like trying to build something permanent in the sand of a beach.
Or not. We really don’t have a good handle on the properties of the material here. All this image really tells us again is that there is ice readily available in the mid-latitudes of Mars.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Click for full image.
Cool image time! The pit shown in the high resolution photo to the right (image rotated, cropped, and reduced to post here) was taken on January 25, 2021 and labeled by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) “Collapse Pit in Graben with Ice Fill.”
There is a lot of information in that title. First, a graben is a geological feature where a section of terrain drops relative to the surrounding terrain, producing a depression. Second, it appears the graben in this region is mostly filled with debris, probably wind-blown dust or sand or volcanic ash.
Third, at this particular spot the filling material sank, like a sinkhole on Earth, creating the pit.
And fourth, and maybe most intriguing, the scientists think that this pit is now filled with ice. At 47 degrees north latitude, the location is prime for such ice, and the interior material resembles similar glacial features seen in many other mid-latitude craters.
The black box in the overview map to the right marks the location of this pit. Note the long fissures running to the northeast from the shield volcano Alba Mons. It is thought as this volcano bulged upward, it caused these fissures as the ground expanded by the pressure from below. The fissures are the graben referenced above.
Though the fissure at this location is mostly filled, the sinkhole suggests that there may be voids below. If so, there is the chance that an underground facility could be build here, protected from radiation and the harsh swings of temperature on the surface. Digging into it and creating a stable habitat within it might not be easy, however, as the fill material is likely structurally weak. It might be like trying to build something permanent in the sand of a beach.
Or not. We really don’t have a good handle on the properties of the material here. All this image really tells us again is that there is ice readily available in the mid-latitudes of Mars.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
I’m seeing a hill, not a pit. The shadows don’t seem to match up with the indented ring to right. I trust that you are correct, but it looks strange.
mrsizer: If you download the image and turn it upside down the pit will likely become evident to you. This phenomenon is an optical illusion caused I think by where we think the sunlight is coming from. Your mind is insisting the light comes from the east, when it really is coming from the west.