Anyway, Mysterious Hole on Mars Found

[chief]

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070605_mars_hole.html

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070528.html


Pretty interesting. Sorry if this has been posted... I didn't see it anywhere.

 

[russ_watters]

Interesting/odd. Sinkhole...?

 

[wolram]

They say,

Because the spot lacks a raised rim or tossed out material called ejecta, researchers have ruled out the pit being an impact crater. No walls or other details can be seen inside the hole, and so any possible walls might be perfectly vertical and extremely dark or - more likely - overhanging.

An old lava tube?

 

[Kurdt]

Thats very interesting. Possibility for underground rivers? Could it not be a meteor impact on a very thin crust or would that produce ejecta aswell?

 

[berkeman]

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070605_mars_hole.html

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070528.html


Pretty interesting. Sorry if this has been posted... I didn't see it anywhere.

Yeah, when I saw that on APOD, I was astounded. Is that the Millenium Falcon down there in the lower right? J/K. It will be very interesting to see what the orbiters can see over the coming months:

Meanwhile, MRO is ready to target the dark spots on Mars over the coming months as opportunities arise, explained HiRISE principal investigator, Alfred McEwen, of the University of Arizona in Tucson.

"We especially want oblique images from the west, to see illuminated walls. These are deep holes with overhanging walls, but perhaps not long caves," McEwen told SPACE.com.

 

[ank_gl]

seems that lil martians are planning their attack.
lava tube? i don't know, i mean there should have been some lava impressions around. seems to be a cleverly dug hole.
can it be a small meteorite just having enough energy to dig up a hole, not to make a blast and the left over(of the lil blast) was blown away by the wind?

but still an alien attack is much more interesting

 

[Integral]

I am sorry, but I reserve the right to be skeptical, that is to black. It looks more like a camera issue then a real feature.

 

[wolram]

I am sorry, but I reserve the right to be skeptical, that is to black. It looks more like a camera issue then a real feature.

I thought that at first, but then thought they must have ruled it out very
early on, as you say it does look to black ,and it looks to regular to me.

 

[ank_gl]

I am sorry, but I reserve the right to be skeptical, that is to black. It looks more like a camera issue then a real feature.

yeah i thought that way too, like something on the lens or something

 

[berkeman]

Come to think of it, isn't this the way "2001 A Space Odessy" started out?

Oh no, wait. That black thing was on the moon. Never mind.

 

[wolram]

In April, it was announced that the NASA Mars Odyssey and its Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) found near the equator seven dark spots that scientists think could be entrances to underground caves.

Seven dark spots.

 

[russ_watters]

I am sorry, but I reserve the right to be skeptical, that is to black. It looks more like a camera issue then a real feature.

Dunno - in that first picture, it seems to me to have a clearly-defined rim with depth.

 

[baywax]

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070605_mars_hole.html

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070528.htmlPretty interesting. Sorry if this has been posted... I didn't see it anywhere.

Here's the close-up shot of the "hole".

http://www.space.com/php/multimedia...lanet.+Credit:+NASA/JPL/University+of+Arizona

You can see its rim and you can see dust from the rim being moved across the face of the volcano its on.

Since it is identified as being on the side of a volcano I'd say it would be perfectly normal for say an ash and pumice based surface that is thin and fragile caving in. And it would be normal for spacious and vacuuous caverns to be just under such a surface.Has anyone seen (the mars) rover lately?

 

[wolram]

Dunno - in that first picture, it seems to me to have a clearly-defined rim with depth.

Would there not be visible cracks around the edge?

 

[MonstersFromTheId]

Oh come on guys, it's OBVIOUS...

MARS IS A FAKE!

This photograph CLEARLY shows that the "planet" Mars is nothing more than a Hollywood prop made of carefully painted paper mache. The hole you see there is undoubtedly where the large rubber balloon, used as a form to hold the paper mache until it dried, was removed after being deflated.

Taken in the context of many other recently discovered facts the conclusion is unavoidable.

Everyone knows that the Moon is made of cheese. This was established more than a century ago. Yet there were NO traces, whatsoever, of any cheese at all on the shoes of the astronauts that supposedly "walked on the Moon".

Then there's the ridiculous idea that the Earth circles the Sun. I mean really. Any of us, can stand perfectly still on any clear day, so that we KNOW that we're not the ones moving, and watch as the Sun moves overhead. Obviously the Sun must be moving around the Earth, not the other way around.

It's a conspiracy. "Scientists" are simply trying to convince us that their bazaar "theories" should be taken seriously. Well - I, for one, am not fooled!

(Unfortunately, given the current environment of rampant idiocy loose in our so called "modern age of reason", I suppose that it IS incumbent upon me to actually note for all reading this that - I'M JOKING O.K.? As in "ha ha", and please don't offer this to Sam Brownback as source material to be quoted in his next N.Y. Times Op Ed piece?)

 

[DaveC426913]

I say we ban him anyway. It's the only way to be sure.

 

[Ouabache]

Has anyone seen (the mars) rover lately?

Yes amazingly, http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/home/ Mars Rovers are both up and running and collecting new data.

Come to think of it, isn't this the way "2001 A Space Odessy" started out?
Oh no, wait. That black thing was on the moon. Never mind.

It does sound like something out of Arthur C. Clarke's novel. If we were in GD forum, I would elaborate.

I am sorry, but I reserve the right to be skeptical, that is to black. It looks more like a camera issue then a real feature.

I also felt it may be an artifact of the imaging. I would expect as good scientists, they would take photos of the same location on different passes, as well as other locations, to rule out an artifact.

 

[chief]

Interesting/odd. Sinkhole...?

That was my first thought as well. Imagine what this would look like from space.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/images/070226-sinkhole-photo.jpg

 

[russ_watters]

Would there not be visible cracks around the edge?

Maybe - what's that at 11 o'clock? Regardless, the surface looks to be characterized by sand dunes, so smaller cracks may be filled-in.

That was my first thought as well. Imagine what this would look like from space.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...hole-photo.jpg

Wow, great example. That's exactly what it looks like to me. And 330 feet deep! Yikes.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Since it is identified as being on the side of a volcano I'd say it would be perfectly normal for say an ash and pumice based surface that is thin and fragile caving in. And it would be normal for spacious and vacuuous caverns to be just under such a surface.

Usually called a skylight.
http://www.decadevolcano.com/photos/keywords/skylight.htm

A friend commented that already he heard comments about using the "caves on Mars" as a shelter for a human habitat. Somehow the idea of going all the way to Mars just to live as cavepeople seems a little ironic.

 

[baywax]

Usually called a skylight.
http://www.decadevolcano.com/photos/keywords/skylight.htm

A friend commented that already he heard comments about using the "caves on Mars" as a shelter for a human habitat. Somehow the idea of going all the way to Mars just to live as cavepeople seems a little ironic.

After posting that I realized this is a "skylight" that's 300 sq m. Its a bit exaggerated in size and one would think the edge would not be so well defined.

However, Mars has a gravity of 0.38g, Earth's being 1g. This may account for less degradation and cracking around the edge. The 10 upper centimetres ( the driest sheet ) of the surface contains at least 3% of water so its not held together by water but a lessor amount of gravity means less push on the surface structure.

Because Mars' gravity is about 1/3 as strong as Earth's, the 7mbar atmosphere would be a 21mbar atmosphere on Earth (where the atmosphere is 1000mbar). This could also possibly account for the less eroded look of the edges of the 300 sq m hole on Mars due to less atmospheric pressure.

Yes amazingly, Oppportunity and Spirit Mars Rovers are both up and running and collecting new data.

Thank you for the link! Energizer rovers!

At least the rovers didn't cause this sinkhole or whatever it is. We may have incurred some sort of martian fine for de-facing the red planet