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Sunday, July 6, 2008

Photo: New Mars Pictures Show Signs of Watery "Aquifers"


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Stunning new images from a satellite orbiting Mars reveal that water once snuck along fractures in Mars's layered rocks.

The fractures are clearly visible in this view of Becquerel Crater, shooting through both the light- and dark-colored layers that make up the canyon's walls. The blue areas are vast sand dunes, not water.

Shot by the HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the image also reveals light-colored features, which scientists are calling halos, that cut across the dark bands. The researchers say these are areas where water flowing through the fractures has altered the appearance of rock.

Image courtesy Science