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image source, NASA / JPL-CALTECH / MSSS
Enlarged image of a stone channel shaped like an entrance door found on one of the hills of Mars
After NASA published amazing photos of the Martian landscape. The Curiosity Rover has captured the image of a rock cavity that looks like an entrance to a secret place. Recently, many Martian geology experts have pointed out that It is a trace of natural erosion. It was not a door made by humans or aliens at all.
Neil Hodgkins, British geologist Vice president of geoscientific research firm Searcher, a longtime study of Mars’ topography. said in an interview with Live Science website that although the rock channel is square. like being cut or drilled with the skill of a wise creature But to him, it looked more like a trace of natural erosion by wind or water.
According to Dr. Nicholas Mangold, a planetary geologist at the University of Nantes in France, There are many things in the picture that indicate it is not. “Alien Gate” for sure. First of all, it’s regarding the size that is estimated to be less than 1 meter tall, coupled with the light and shadow that appear to make it look like it’s a deep hole opening inside. although it was actually only a shallow hole in the rock.
Hodgkins said that “The hill on which the door-like stone niches stand It is characterized as a layer of rock formed by the deposition of soil and sand that forms the bottom of the river. Or it’s a sand dunes that have been piled up by the wind since regarding 4 billion years ago, where the harder parts of the sand stick out prominently.”
Nearby, many vertical rock fractures were also found. Hodgkins pointed out that when these cracks expand until they meet horizontally deposited rock layers. can cause the rock to break out into large chunks Some of the shapes are similar to square corners and some edges are almost straight lines. From the picture, there are still pieces of broken rock that have come off.
image source, NASA / JPL / USGS
Last week, a record-breaking earthquake hit the Valles Marineris ravine on Mars.
“This is very natural. And we’ve found layers of rocks that are broken into similar shapes. in many arid regions around the world,” explains Hodgkins.
Dr. Mangold remarked in support of the above opinion. “The structure of the rock layers that make up this hill There are cracks everywhere both horizontally and vertically. This makes it easy for rocks to break apart into square boxes.”
But I don’t agree with what some people say. Strong earthquakes on Mars late last year and early May. causing a channel similar to this door Because cracks in the rock that are the main cause have been around for millions of years. from the erosion of ancient rivers that once existed on the surface of Mars.”
“Earthquakes are likely to have little effect on the erosion of this rock. compared to the stress acting on the rock due to seasonal temperature changes on Mars,” concluded Dr Mangold.
This mysterious door is a recorded image from Mount Sharp inside the Gale Crater, which the Curiosity Exploration Robot captured its image. As he climbed the 5,500-metre-high hill, the Greenheugh Pediment sits on a rugged, crocodile-like surface.