Spiders on Mars? What does this image of the South Pole of the Red Planet suggest?



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A first look at the image captured by NASA's Reconnaissance Orbiter seems to really show spiders crawling on the surface of the red planet. However, they have little to do with real spiders

Spiders on the South Pole of Mars

The image acquired on May 13, 2018, by NASA Reconnaissance Orbiter during the winter at the pole South of Mars shows an icecap of carbon dioxide covering the area and as the sun returns in spring, "spiders" begin to emerge from the landscape.

But they are not real spiders. This is a landscape phenomenon known as "areaniform terrain"

Araneiform means spider

Spiders on Mars are just radially organized canals that look like creeping wall insects

How These spiders "have formed. red planet

The grounds on the surface of Mars are formed when the ice of carbon dioxide under the surface is heated and released. It is an active seasonal process

However, the process is not seen on the Earth.

For example, consider the ice of carbon dioxide on Mars as dry ice on Earth. When it is heated, it sublimes (the changes form from solid to gas) and the gas becomes trapped under the surface.

Over time, when the gas CO 2 increases the pressure and becomes strong enough to break through the ice like a jet that burst the dust. When the gas is released into the atmosphere, the darker dust settles around the vent or is carried by the winds to produce streaks.

The loss of sublimated CO 2 leaves behind these spider-like features. surface

Scientists spotted spiders in 2017

In August 2017, up to 10,000 scientists-scientists helped to discover spider forms on parts of Mars. Oxford University researchers also defined the characteristic of the spider as:

A type of erosion of land where networks of cracks form on Martian soil, completely different from anything on Earth.

The discovery was made by volunteers. Planet Four: Terrains, a site hosted by Zooniverse, the world's largest and most popular search platform.

Scientists have also explained the phenomenon

About 10,000 scientists have contributed to the research, viewing and classification of spiders. more than 20,000 images derived from the observations made by the Context Camera (CTX), aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

These images contained many spiders as well as other reliefs known as Swiss cheese field and craters. The explanation, given at the time, is the same as we have now

Araneiforms – the scientific name for these features – occurs at the South Pole planets and forms when carbon dioxide turns into ice during the winter Martian. the season changes, direct sunlight penetrates the translucent ice, warming the earth below.

The land surface erodes as gas escapes and pulls out small pieces of land, forming slender branches that look like spider's legs

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