Sculptured lava south of Olympus Mons?
Click for full image.
Time for a cool image! The photo to the right, rotated, cropped, and reduced to post here, was taken on September 8, 2021 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). It shows a region of strangely sculptured terrain located several hundred miles south of Olympus Mons.
It appears the prevailing winds are to the west. The question is whether the wind is shaping a hard lava surface, over eons, or is shaping instead layers of dust or volcanic ash quickly and seasonally. At this location either is possible. In fact, we might even be seeing evidence of both at the same time.
The overview map below shows that the location is just outside the Medusae Fossae Formation, the largest volcanic ash deposit on Mars.
The black cross south of Olympus Mons marks the location of this photo. That this region is just outside the Medusae Fossae Formation does not preclude the possibility that this spot does not have a lot of volcanic ash. Ash deposits don’t simply stop at a line, instantly. There easily could be large patches scattered about at the periphery of the Fossae Formation, with this being an example of one.
At the same time, the flanks of Olympus Mons are generally made up of vast lava flood plains. This spot could also be that, with the winds slowly carving that plain to create the features we see.
Your guess is as good as mine.
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
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Click for full image.
Time for a cool image! The photo to the right, rotated, cropped, and reduced to post here, was taken on September 8, 2021 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). It shows a region of strangely sculptured terrain located several hundred miles south of Olympus Mons.
It appears the prevailing winds are to the west. The question is whether the wind is shaping a hard lava surface, over eons, or is shaping instead layers of dust or volcanic ash quickly and seasonally. At this location either is possible. In fact, we might even be seeing evidence of both at the same time.
The overview map below shows that the location is just outside the Medusae Fossae Formation, the largest volcanic ash deposit on Mars.
The black cross south of Olympus Mons marks the location of this photo. That this region is just outside the Medusae Fossae Formation does not preclude the possibility that this spot does not have a lot of volcanic ash. Ash deposits don’t simply stop at a line, instantly. There easily could be large patches scattered about at the periphery of the Fossae Formation, with this being an example of one.
At the same time, the flanks of Olympus Mons are generally made up of vast lava flood plains. This spot could also be that, with the winds slowly carving that plain to create the features we see.
Your guess is as good as mine.
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.
Typo: “Olympus Mons” not “Olympus Mars”.
Michael McNeil: Thank you. Typo fixed.
Coincidentally, my grandson’s grade-school teacher also recently told his class that the biggest volcano in the solar system was “Olympus Mars”. I told him the right name. As luck would have it, the very next day she told the class she had made a mistake and asked if anyone knew the correct name, which he promptly blurted out! Grandpa is on a pretty tall pedestal at the moment!
Ray Van Dune: Very cool story. And great for your grandson.
I have one question: Do you reveal your source of info (BtB) to your grandson, or do you continue to pose as all-knowing, all-wise? :)
Robert asked: “I have one question: Do you reveal your source of info (BtB) to your grandson, or do you continue to pose as all-knowing, all-wise? :)”
A local hardware store ran a series of spots featuring a grandfather who would get his advice from the store, and pass it off as his own. But being a grandfather means working smarter, not harder.
Mars The Red Planet its suppost to have Canyon bigger then the Grand Canyon