New Mars images shows 'fingernail' gouging-like features on surface
Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2022 11:20 pm
https://www.space.com/mars-image-finger ... es-volcano
Scratches and grooves on the Martian surface look like a huge 'fingernail' was gouging out regolith on the Red Planet, but there's a volcanic origin to these features.
Specifically, scientists believe that these faults, dubbed Tantalus Fossae, were created by the volcano Alba Mons, which is located to the west of the terrain visible in the striking new views. The images are based on data gathered by the European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Express mission, which has been orbiting Mars since 2003.
Those intriguing gouges around the flanks of Alba Mons are known as grabens, which formed as the mountain grew, ESA officials wrote in a statement about the images. As volcanic activity pulled at the Martian surface, parallel fault lines opened up circling the peak; the rock between them dropped into the empty space this created, agency officials explained — like geologic stretch marks
The grabens stretch in an "incomplete ring" around Alba Mons, ESA noted, for a total length of 620 miles (1,000 kilometers). In some places, the grabens are as deep as 1,150 feet (350 meters), more than three times the height of the Statue of Liberty.
Scratches and grooves on the Martian surface look like a huge 'fingernail' was gouging out regolith on the Red Planet, but there's a volcanic origin to these features.
Specifically, scientists believe that these faults, dubbed Tantalus Fossae, were created by the volcano Alba Mons, which is located to the west of the terrain visible in the striking new views. The images are based on data gathered by the European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Express mission, which has been orbiting Mars since 2003.
Those intriguing gouges around the flanks of Alba Mons are known as grabens, which formed as the mountain grew, ESA officials wrote in a statement about the images. As volcanic activity pulled at the Martian surface, parallel fault lines opened up circling the peak; the rock between them dropped into the empty space this created, agency officials explained — like geologic stretch marks
The grabens stretch in an "incomplete ring" around Alba Mons, ESA noted, for a total length of 620 miles (1,000 kilometers). In some places, the grabens are as deep as 1,150 feet (350 meters), more than three times the height of the Statue of Liberty.