Photo: NASA/JPL/UArizona
If the real world were to have a powerful being like DC Comics’ Superman, Mars would definitely not be a potential home for him. The place is utterly dead, it has no elements (that we know of) that could give beings superpowers, and we’re pretty certain it never housed intelligent life. But that doesn’t mean we can’t see similarities between some of the regions of Mars and the places described in comic books.
What you’re looking at now is an undisclosed region of Mars 1 km (less than a mile) in diameter, as it appeared from 257 km (160 miles) up to the HiRISE camera back in 2009. We’re looking at what scientists from NASA and the University of Arizona are calling “the splitting of dunes.”
But to these eyes, the area looks more like an alien shot of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, his HQ located away from any trace of civilization, preferably in a region that is extremely cold.
Scientists explain the dunes got their shape on account of the mound seen in the center of the image, which blocked their path as they moved to the south of the planet. Because of the obstacle, “many of these transverse dunes have slipfaces that face south,” while smaller dunes wear the signs of wind shift placing them perpendicular to the larger ones.
We’re told “this group of dunes is very near the central pit of a 35-kilometer-wide impact crater,” and analysis of the data from the region received so far points to clay-like materials being present in the rock exposed in the central pit.
These materials are being seen by us humans as a sign the planet had conditions at some point (like liquid water) that could have supported life. Not Superman-type like, of course, but at least some germs that once discovered could answer the question of whether life in this Universe is limited to planet Earth.
But to these eyes, the area looks more like an alien shot of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, his HQ located away from any trace of civilization, preferably in a region that is extremely cold.
Scientists explain the dunes got their shape on account of the mound seen in the center of the image, which blocked their path as they moved to the south of the planet. Because of the obstacle, “many of these transverse dunes have slipfaces that face south,” while smaller dunes wear the signs of wind shift placing them perpendicular to the larger ones.
We’re told “this group of dunes is very near the central pit of a 35-kilometer-wide impact crater,” and analysis of the data from the region received so far points to clay-like materials being present in the rock exposed in the central pit.
These materials are being seen by us humans as a sign the planet had conditions at some point (like liquid water) that could have supported life. Not Superman-type like, of course, but at least some germs that once discovered could answer the question of whether life in this Universe is limited to planet Earth.
Google News