startswithabang:Martian Gullies Were Carved By Water, Not Lava, And Now We Have Proof“Are these stre
startswithabang:Martian Gullies Were Carved By Water, Not Lava, And Now We Have Proof“Are these streams tricking into a large river? Or is this a lava ridge – similar to the mid-Atlantic ridge on Earth – where lava has trickled down the sides?From this visual inspection, it’s impossible to tell. But we have a trick up our sleeves thanks to orbital surveyors: we can measure the topography of these features, or the relative elevation of each point in this image. A lava flow would have the highest point (in altitude) be located at the peak of the flow, and everything else would have to be “downhill” from there, culminating in the “tendrils” at the lowest elevations. But if this were caused by water, the ends of the tendrils would be at the highest points, flowing down into the river basin below.”For a long time, scientists debated what formed these features that appeared to be carved into the martian terrain. Were they caused by lava, flowing down over the rest of the martian surface? Or were they caused by water, flowing down the mountains and culminating in a river? Thanks to our orbiting satellites constructing a complete topographic map of the surface, we know the answer: it’s water all the way!well shitBone-tired the race that raised the Towers, forgotten are their lores;Long gone the gods who shed the tears that lap these crystal shores.Slow beats the time-worn heart of Mars beneath this icy sky;The thin air whispers voicelessly that all who live must die-Yet still the lacy Spires of Truth sing Beauty’s madrigalAnd she herself will ever dwell along the Grand Canal! -- source link
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