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This image of NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, acquired on May 13, 2018 during the winter at the South Pole in March, shows a cap of carbon dioxide spanning the region and as the sun returns in spring, the spiders begin to emerge from the landscape
But they are not real spiders. Called araneiform terrain, describes the spider-like radiating mounds that form when the ice of carbon dioxide beneath the surface heats up and releases. It's an active seasonal process that has not been seen on Earth. Like dry ice on Earth, the carbon dioxide ice on Mars is sublimated when it warms (goes from solid to gas) and the gas is trapped beneath the surface.
Over time, trapped carbon dioxide is formed under pressure and is finally strong enough to break the ice in the form of a jet that erupts dust. The gas is released into the atmosphere and darker dust can settle around the vent or be carried by the winds to produce streaks. The loss of sublimed carbon dioxide leaves behind these features resembling spiders etched into the surface.
The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, runs the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for the NASA Science Missions Directorate in Washington DC
(Source: NASA) [19659002] ] Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews Follow us on Facebook, Twitter .
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