Geoscientist Explains Strange Rock Formation on Mars
Missions to Mars have brought forth a lot of valuable information about the planet, not all of which has been explained as yet. One such unexplained mystery from Mars has been regarding rocks that have been found on its surface. Rocks in some parts of Mars have been found scattered in strange uniform formations. So far, no ready explanation had been provided for such a uniformly spaced formation of rocks. However, Geoscientist Jon Pelletier, from the University of Arizona in Tucson believes he has solved this mystery.
It has been believed for some time now that the high speed winds that occur frequently on the surface of the planet may have something to do with rocks being scattered in particular formations. However, this theory does not hold much weight, because despite being a very windy planet, the air in the atmosphere of the planet is so thin, that even at high speeds, the wind is incapable of carrying rocks in its stride. The rocks found in these uniformly spaced formations range from the size of a penny to the size of a football. It would have been impossible for the winds on Mars to transport rocks of such varied sizes from one place to another. It is even more improbable that the winds were responsible for dropping these rocks of different shapes and sizes in a uniformly spaced fashion.
While the wind is incapable of moving rocks from one place to another, it certainly can move sand that is present all across the surface of Mars. Geoscientist Jon Pelletier believes that it is this motion of sand that is responsible for the strange rock formations on Mars. And not just that, he believes that the sand makes the rocks move into the direction of the wind as opposed to along with it. Here is how he explains it:
When the wind blows, it moves the loose sand in front of rocks, creating a pit in front of it. On the other hand, some of the sand gets deposited behind the rock as it provides protection against the wind. This mound of sand prevents the rock from rolling backwards and along with the wind. Instead, when the sand in front of the rock gets eroded, it creates a pit, causing the rock to roll forward into the pit and into the direction of the blowing wind. This gets repeated over and over again as long as the wind keeps blowing.
When you consider the effects of this phenomenon on a cluster of rocks, here’s what happens: the rocks in front of the cluster are the first to be affected by the wind, while the ones in the centre and around the back remain protected longer. In the case of a cluster, the pit gets created on the side of the rocks and they end up rolling sideways. The mound of sand that gets created behind them prevents bunching up of rocks and as the wind keeps blowing, the rocks move further apart from each other, but maintain a formation along the original cluster.
Four Habitable Planets - Part 2
This is a continued post, part 1 can be found here
Hey guys, back again with part two of this three part series. This will most likely be the shortest post of the lot, but tomorrows post will be the longest I would say. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the article and make some sense of it! As always views and comments are appreciated.
The third type of planet we explore are the icy worlds. These are the planets that have water underneath their surface, rather than above it. The moon of Jupiter, Europa is a perfect example of what is trying to be said here. However Europa is part the point in the solar system where ice can change to water. Apparently once it is past the certain point, it can no longer become water.
The acceptable appearance of accouter zones thinks of a bounded brilliant as actuality the prime activity source. Worlds like Europa however that are icy, added factors appear into play, such as the gravitational cull of additional planets. Worlds with aqueous baptize under icy layers could potentially be inhabited by simple bacilli admitting actuality far from the accepted accouter zone, so continued as activity is provided in some added way.
That concludes part two, part three will be up tomorrow!
Four Habitable Planets - Part 1
Now two mysteries that have faced scientists for years are; how are existence came about and other worlds that could possibly have life on. Now although so much research and thought has been put into these two topics; there is no certain answer just yet.
A man by the name of Jan Hendrik Bredehöft has come along with a few ideas relating to whether planets can be habitable. I will bring this story to you in three parts, this being the first one. Expect the others to be posted over the next few days. This research will definitely help scientists in their search as this can narrow things down; as well as provide places to send out programs to bring back pictures of different planets.
Earth Like Worlds
Firstly, Earth Like Worlds were brought up. Well all planets like this a habitable; thus they are under control in the search. Planets like this would need to be able to handle complex life; have oxygen, a liquid base of water, normal climate and of course livable temperatures.
Mars Like Worlds
The second and last one I will have in this post were suggested to be worlds such as Mars and Venus. These worlds were once like Earth but have since changed. Mars became very dry and little to no water can be found on it. Due to the greenhouse effect Venus became too hot for anything to live on!
But Bredehöft believes there is still a possibility these planets could be habitable. He believes over time, living things would have got used to the conditions and eventually been able to exist and live a normal life. He says that the Earth has gone through so much in past times yet survived it, why wouldn’t other living things on other planets do the same? He makes a strong point in saying that once life is established it is very hard to destroy or kill off.
Do Aliens Exist? - Part 2
This is continued on from the first post; I hope the reason you’re reading this is because I got your mind ticking over from the first post. Anyway, this post is as said a continuation and I will go into a little more detail in the complex stuff. Read over this carefully and make sure you get your head around what is going on - this can be a little hard to understand so you need to try your best to get through it. Once again; if you have opinions or questions feel free to leave them in the comment box below.
Life In Extreme Circumstances
Everywhere (and I mean everywhere) a scientist or natural discoverer may go, they find life in the most extreme circumstances. Whether it be under ice, in the desert, in the jungle, in the dark oceans or even in blistery conditions - life has all ways been found on Earth. So this means, life can be found in the toughest of conditions; with the way Earth is panning out, it is only going to get worse - yet there will still be life! Now, some microbes on Earth put under extreme conditions; could live in the hot surface of Mars. These findings have made scientists thing about whether Aliens really do exist. The only thing we think they would need is water.
Aliens Have Visited?
Now wouldn’t that persuade some of you? What if I told you aliens had already visited Earth? Well from recent studies; around half of the USA believe that aliens have already visited us! Viewers/witnesses have provided pictorial and visual proof of UFO’s visiting Earth’s layers. However, head scientists studying then matter have dismissed all claims. Although, people still visit Roswell, N.M home of a reported UFO crash 60 years ago.
In Conclusion
Whether it is true or not, no one has yet to prove it. I do however put myself in the group of people that believe in aliens as there must be life out there.. somewhere. Until next time - over and out!
Do Aliens Exist? - Part 1
A question that has baffled many for years and years, do aliens exist? In this post I will be leaving some basic notes to hopefully persuade you into thinking aliens do exist. We will go through galaxy, study behavior and point out things that may stick out in our journey to reveal whether aliens exist or not. Follow the post along and leave your output below in the comment box if you wish too; I am happy to here replies.
So Many Stars - There Must Be Life?
Ever looked up at the night sky? Checked just how many starts there are in our galaxy? I am pretty sure you lost count; reason being is there are literally billions of stars up there. Although no scientist have yet to make any vivid proof of life beyond Earth; you think to yourself, with all those stars there must be something up there? Now 50% of stars are attached to a planet; with 1 trillion planets it would be pretty extraordinary if we were the only living creatures. There must be more, surely out of all those planets one has evolved into something similar to Earth? It would truly be amazing if Earth was the only planet after so many years the we can live on.
Water Isn’t A Problem
Heard on TV or the radio about neighboring planets in out solar system that have water? Well water is a key ingredient to live, without water there is of course no life. Evidence has emerged that Mars has water flowing under it’s surface. One of Jupiter’s moons Europa has been noted to have an ocean in it’s mists. Other moons such as Callisto, Ganymede, Titan and Enceladus also appear to have water in them or surrounding. Even Venus, an extremely hot planet has been said to contain at least a little water. So there you have it, that is 7 different places that have water amongst them; there might just be life, don’t you think? 
Life On Earth Evolved Fast
Scientists have said the Earth is over 4.5 billion years old. Yet the only sign of earth was at the 3.4 billion year old mark. Bacteria mats began to grow in Australia; now anyone that has studied science will know that it is a very complex thing. This leaves scientists with a conclusion that there must have been life before it had begun to grow. Something had to cause it to grow, it didn’t just start out of nowhere - thus there must have been something living on Earth beforehand that caused it.