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Old 30-April-2007, 07:05 PM
Don't Panic Don't Panic is offline
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Question Mars Vegetation?

Hello all, new to the board so bare with me if this is old news. Recently I became aware of some photos taken by the Mars Global Surveyor, that showed Vegetation on Mars. Now being the Bad Astronomy follower that I am, I remain very skeptical that this is actually vegetation. It seems to me that this is some sort of geological formation. But I was wondering if someone has another explanation. Anyway here is a link to the site that I found it on.

http://mmmgroup.altervista.org/e-trees.html
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Old 30-April-2007, 09:02 PM
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Originally Posted by Don't Panic View Post
Recently I became aware of some photos taken by the Mars Global Surveyor, that showed Vegetation on Mars. Now being the Bad Astronomy follower that I am, I remain very skeptical that this is actually vegetation. It seems to me that this is some sort of geological formation. But I was wondering if someone has another explanation.
Not vegetation. Carbon dioxide eruptions, and the leftover patterned debris thereof.

NASA Press Release NASA Findings Suggest Jets Bursting From Martian Ice Cap

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Every spring brings violent eruptions to the south polar ice cap of Mars, according to researchers interpreting new observations by NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter.

Jets of carbon dioxide gas erupting from the ice cap as it warms in the spring carry dark sand and dust high aloft. The dark material falls back to the surface, creating dark patches on the ice cap which have long puzzled scientists. Deducing the eruptions of carbon dioxide gas from under the warming ice cap solves the riddle of the spots. It also reveals that this part of Mars is much more dynamically active than had been expected for any part of the planet.


Quote:
The team began its research in an attempt to explain mysterious dark spots, fan-like markings, and spider-shaped features seen in images that cameras on Odyssey and on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor have observed on the ice cap at the Martian south pole.
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Old 03-June-2007, 02:48 PM
Orion437 Orion437 is offline
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Originally Posted by 01101001 View Post
Not vegetation. Carbon dioxide eruptions, and the leftover patterned debris thereof.

NASA Press Release NASA Findings Suggest Jets Bursting From Martian Ice Cap



How does that explain the M08-04688 photo?

http://mmmgroup.altervista.org/m0804668.html

http://ida.wr.usgs.gov/display/MGSC_...804688.imq.jpg
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Old 03-June-2007, 04:28 PM
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I sure will be glad when we eventually put people on Mars so they can report back..."Nope, no plants, no "face", no pyramids...just a lot of sand."

I know it won't convince the "true believers"...then again, no amount of evidence ever will.
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Old 03-June-2007, 04:57 PM
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But then, what is the explanation? The simplest explanation is that some vegetable life forms (perhaps dating back to times when water was abundant on Mars) continue to grow on the planet, probably sinking their roots in a partially frozen water layer and able to bear strong changes in temperature.


Hmmm, some new definition of the "simplest" explanation??

(More like, "the explanation he most wants to be true".)
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Old 04-June-2007, 09:13 AM
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I have to admit, I find this one very interesting
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/galle...VP2557L4M1.JPG
Granted, there is a whole mindset devoted to things that "look like" other things but... it looks wet.
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Old 04-June-2007, 01:22 PM
OneHotJupiter OneHotJupiter is offline
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Holy Moley , it does look 'wet' , I had yet to see that picture , great!
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Old 04-June-2007, 02:13 PM
Kyle Edwards Kyle Edwards is offline
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Originally Posted by Occam View Post
I have to admit, I find this one very interesting
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/galle...VP2557L4M1.JPG
Granted, there is a whole mindset devoted to things that "look like" other things but... it looks wet.
Looks like you can see things partially submersed in that "puddle" at the bottom of the image.
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Old 04-June-2007, 04:04 PM
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I just don't see it. It looks like wind-blown dust to me.
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Old 05-June-2007, 12:20 AM
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It does look like a puddle at the bottom of the photo, there even appear to be reflections in the puddle. However, given the very low air pressure, I have to think it's something else. Maybe even an issue with the photograph itself.
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Old 05-June-2007, 02:30 AM
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I just don't see it. It looks like wind-blown dust to me.
Exactly. In fact, without further data it could be either or neither. That's the problem with those that make wild claims based only on images, without taking into account other data that may corroborate or counter such ideas. What is the temperature? What is the scale? How do these features appear on successive passes? Was the image achieved with visible light, infra red, ultraviolet or radar? Pictures are great to have, since they inspire us to achieve greater things - but they are not the whole story.
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Old 09-June-2007, 02:36 PM
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Default More on those puddles

read it here http://space.newscientist.com/articl...s-surface.html

edit - Oops, just found a prior post here http://www.bautforum.com/showthread....54#post1004454
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Old 09-June-2007, 04:28 PM
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A new low for New Scientist.
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Old 10-June-2007, 12:19 AM
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Old 11-December-2007, 11:46 PM
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NASA MRO Press Release: Mars Orbiter Examines 'Lace' and 'Lizard Skin' Terrain

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"A lot of Mars looks like Utah, but this is an area that looks nothing like Planet Earth," said Candice Hansen of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., deputy principal investigator for the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

In addition to radially branching patterns called "spiders," which had been detected by an earlier Mars orbiter, other intriguing ground textures in the area appear in the new images. "In some places, the channels form patterns more like lace. In others, the texture is reminiscent of lizard skin," Hansen said.

Results from all six instruments on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which reached Mars last year, are described in dozens of presentations this week by planetary scientists in San Francisco at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
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Old 05-March-2008, 07:24 PM
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A new low for New Scientist.

01101001;1004906 Does this mean they won't be posting pictures of the crop circles cut in the Mars vegetation?? ....pete
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Old 14-March-2008, 09:07 PM
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Old 14-March-2008, 09:07 PM
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if you look closely at the striations on the large rock features they look remarkabley like graubens these are deep groves gouged out of rock by receeding glacial ice the fine structured debris in the channels also ressembles rock flour with drop stones mixed into it from turbidity currents you can see similar sorts of structures in norway and also in places in the scottish highlands
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Old 14-March-2008, 09:40 PM
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Quote:
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if you look closely at the striations on the large rock features[...]
Link? Which large rock features? Which article are you responding to?

Quote:
Originally Posted by timetraveller View Post
[...] they look remarkabley like graubens [...]
Grabens?
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