Layers upon layers on Mars
Click for original image.
Today’s cool image once again illustrates that the geology of Mars will almost certainly center on a study of layers, as increasingly the orbital and rover images are telling us that the red planet is covered with innumerable layers, one after another, each created by another cycle, some seasonal, some global, and some related to climate and the planet’s fluctuating rotation tilt as well as its orbit around the Sun. And some might also be random volcanic events, unrelated to the cycles.
The picture to the right, rotated, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on October 10, 2022 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Labeled by the science team “Layering in western Arabia Terra”, this section only shows a small amount of the layering visible in the full image. From east to west the ground rises in a series of terraces, each representing a different layer of distinct geology.
The white dot on the overview map to the right, several hundred miles north of where the rover Opportunity landed, marks the location of these layers. Though the surface in this region is heavily cratered, there is no crater at this particular spot. The layering is instead apparently associated with the overall general geology, and likely represents different event, each one laying down a new layer. These events could be that of lava, or glacial activity, or even catastrophic water floods, all of which are theorized to have occurred on Mars.
If a geologist could walk up to the cliff faces here, I think it very likely that he or she would find that the large layers are further divided into many smaller layers. This has been the pattern of discovery so far on Mars. As our rovers begin traveling into more dramatic terrain with more vertical relief, the cliffs are over and over showing layers upon layers upon layers. This spot on Mars is likely to be no different.
UPDATE: I got curious to see a wider view of this region, and found this MRO context camera picture. The terraced area in the hi-res picture above is located on the eastern side of the terraced plateau, inside the large depression. Looks very volcanic, though there is no certainty in any conclusions.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. 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.
Click for original image.
Today’s cool image once again illustrates that the geology of Mars will almost certainly center on a study of layers, as increasingly the orbital and rover images are telling us that the red planet is covered with innumerable layers, one after another, each created by another cycle, some seasonal, some global, and some related to climate and the planet’s fluctuating rotation tilt as well as its orbit around the Sun. And some might also be random volcanic events, unrelated to the cycles.
The picture to the right, rotated, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on October 10, 2022 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Labeled by the science team “Layering in western Arabia Terra”, this section only shows a small amount of the layering visible in the full image. From east to west the ground rises in a series of terraces, each representing a different layer of distinct geology.
The white dot on the overview map to the right, several hundred miles north of where the rover Opportunity landed, marks the location of these layers. Though the surface in this region is heavily cratered, there is no crater at this particular spot. The layering is instead apparently associated with the overall general geology, and likely represents different event, each one laying down a new layer. These events could be that of lava, or glacial activity, or even catastrophic water floods, all of which are theorized to have occurred on Mars.
If a geologist could walk up to the cliff faces here, I think it very likely that he or she would find that the large layers are further divided into many smaller layers. This has been the pattern of discovery so far on Mars. As our rovers begin traveling into more dramatic terrain with more vertical relief, the cliffs are over and over showing layers upon layers upon layers. This spot on Mars is likely to be no different.
UPDATE: I got curious to see a wider view of this region, and found this MRO context camera picture. The terraced area in the hi-res picture above is located on the eastern side of the terraced plateau, inside the large depression. Looks very volcanic, though there is no certainty in any conclusions.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. 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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