Land of Martian springs?
Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on December 22, 2014 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). I came across this image when researching another photo taken recently of the interior of this same 56-mile-wide crater, dubbed Firsoff, and decided this decade old picture was far more interesting.
Firsoff, which had been considered a candidate landing site for Perseverance, is known for the many layers shown in this picture. It is also known for having mounds, here ranging in height from 90 to 150 feet, that some scientists believe could have once been springs of water. The layers as always are of great interest, as they provide data on past geological events. In the case of Firsoff, the layers are especially easy to see because of their alternating dark and light colors. The dark layers are thought to be basalt, suggesting these layers were laid down during a volcanic event.
On the overview map to the right, the black dots mark the picture’s location. Note that Firsoff is not the only crater in this region thought to hold inactive springs. In 2020 scientists presented research showing that Vernal Crater could have springs. Other research has identified similar possibilities in Crommelin Crater.
In other words, though this region is dead center in the dry equatorial regions of Mars, it shows evidence of the possibility that water once existed here below ground, and might even still be there. As I noted in 2020, the data here is still sparse and subject to interpretation, though it is also very intriguing.
Regardless, the layered terrain here produces some of the most beautiful terrain on Mars.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID 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. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
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.
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4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
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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.
Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on December 22, 2014 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). I came across this image when researching another photo taken recently of the interior of this same 56-mile-wide crater, dubbed Firsoff, and decided this decade old picture was far more interesting.
Firsoff, which had been considered a candidate landing site for Perseverance, is known for the many layers shown in this picture. It is also known for having mounds, here ranging in height from 90 to 150 feet, that some scientists believe could have once been springs of water. The layers as always are of great interest, as they provide data on past geological events. In the case of Firsoff, the layers are especially easy to see because of their alternating dark and light colors. The dark layers are thought to be basalt, suggesting these layers were laid down during a volcanic event.
On the overview map to the right, the black dots mark the picture’s location. Note that Firsoff is not the only crater in this region thought to hold inactive springs. In 2020 scientists presented research showing that Vernal Crater could have springs. Other research has identified similar possibilities in Crommelin Crater.
In other words, though this region is dead center in the dry equatorial regions of Mars, it shows evidence of the possibility that water once existed here below ground, and might even still be there. As I noted in 2020, the data here is still sparse and subject to interpretation, though it is also very intriguing.
Regardless, the layered terrain here produces some of the most beautiful terrain on Mars.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID 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. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
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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