Orcus Patera is an enigmatic elliptical depression located between the volcanoes of Elysium Mons and Olympus Mons. Credits: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)
Orcus Patera is an enigmatic elliptical depression near Mars’s equator, in the eastern hemisphere of the planet. Located between the volcanoes of Elysium Mons and Olympus Mons, its formation remains a mystery.
Often overlooked, this well-defined depression extends approximately 380 km by 140 km in a NNE–SSW direction. It has a rim that rises up to 1800 m above the surrounding plains, while the floor of the depression lies 400–600 m below the surroundings.
The term ‘patera’ is used for deep, complex or irregularly shaped volcanic craters such as the Hadriaca Patera and Tyrrhena Patera at the north-eastern margin of the Hellas impact basin. However, despite its name and the fact that it is positioned near volcanoes, the actual origin of Orcus Patera remains unclear.
Aside from volcanism, there are a number of other possible origins. Orcus Patera may be a large and originally round impact crater, subsequently deformed by compressional forces. Alternatively, it could have formed after the erosion of aligned impact craters. However, the most likely explanation is that it was made in an oblique impact, when a small body struck the surface at a very shallow angle, perhaps less than five degrees from the horizontal.
The existence of tectonic forces at Orcus Patera is evident from the presence of the numerous ‘graben’, rift-valley-like structures that cut across its rim. Up to 2.5 km wide, these graben are oriented roughly east–west and are only visible on the rim and the nearby surroundings.
Within the Orcus Patera depression itself, the large graben are not visible, probably having been covered by later deposits. But smaller graben are present, indicating that several tectonic events have occurred in this region and also suggesting that multiple episodes of deposition have taken place.
The occurrence of ‘wrinkle ridges’ within the depression proves that not only extensional forces, as would be needed to create graben, but also compressive forces shaped this region. The dark shapes near the centre of the depression were probably formed by wind-driven processes, where dark material excavated by small impact events in the depression has been redistributed.
On 5 and 11 October 2005, the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft obtained image data in the Orcus Patera region at approximately 14°N/177°E. The data were acquired during orbits 2216 and 2238 and with a ground resolution of approximately 30 m per pixel. Credits: NASA MGS MOLA/FU Berlin.
p/s: Kiranya kat Mars (Marikh) ni ada gunung berapi la ye. Cuma tak nampak pun dia meletus and menghasilkan lava...hurm.
mengikut khabar angin yang berpunca dari NASA..dipercayai mars ada misteri tersendiri keran a dikaitkan dengan makhluk asing Anunnaki..
Malahan Sebuah dari bulannya adalah LOMPONG...dan berkemungkinan adalah sebuah kapal angkasa yang sangat besar!!
Diberitakan seorang angkasawan NASA (tak silap Buzz Aldrin) pernah menyatakan manusia harus segera sisasat bulan mars tersebut kerana ada OBELISK aneh dan tinggi!!!{:1_126:}
nampak macam kesan hentaman objek yg besar pada sudut yg amat rendah..
kalau nak kata meteorid/asteroid pulak....................
logik ke hentaman pada sudut serendah tu untuk hasilkan kesan yg seakan 'seretan'? :re:
A Talk on Voyages of Scientific Discovery with the Mars Exploration Rovers
For over seven years, hundreds of scientists have traveled together exploring the unknown lands of Mars. Primary among the mission scientific goals of the exploration is to search for and characterize a wide range of rocks and soils that hold clues to p...ast water activity on Mars. Scientists identified two landing sites for the spacecraft at the opposite of Mars-the Gusev Crater, a possible former lake in a giant impact crater, and Meridiani Planum, where mineral deposits suggested Mars had a wet past.
The exciting voyages of discovery at Gusev Crater and Meridiani Planum have developed a new practice for doing science using virtual reality tools to program a robotic laboratory and interpret data about the chemistry, geology, and atmosphere of Mars while scientists are living on Earth.
From many compelling photographs and stories, you will learn about the scientists' personal experience in working on Mars. You will understand how using computer tools, humanity's reach now extends to another planet.
Our Distinguished Speaker:
Dr. William J. Clancey,
Chief Scientist,
Human-Centered Computing, Intelligent Systems Division,
NASA Ames research Center,
USA
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Public Talk: "Voyages of Scientific Discovery with the Mars Exploration Rovers" Venue: Main Auditorium, IIUM
Date: Friday, June 10, 2011
Time: 8.00pm - 10.30pm
The public talk is organized in conjunction of the series of lectures on Work System Design, a method for designing more productive and efficient work places in any organisations. The method involves essentially a scientific approach to observing people at work and partnering with them to improve the work places processes, tools, and facilities.
This public presentation will focus on one of NASA's scientific mission to study Mars using the Mars Exploration Rovers, a long-term effort to explore Mars with robotic science instruments.
For over seven years, hundreds of scientists have traveled together exploring the unknown lands of Mars. Primary among the mission scientific goals of the exploration is to search for and characterize a wide range of rocks and soils that hold clues to past water activity on Mars. Scientists identified two landing sites for the spacecraft at the opposite of Mars-the Gusev Crater, a possible former lake in a giant impact crater, and Meridiani Planum, where mineral deposits suggested Mars had a wet past.
The exciting voyages of discovery at Gusev Crater and Meridiani Planum have developed a new practice for doing field science - a new way of studying a landscape. The innovative technology includes virtual reality tools to program a robotic laboratory and interpret data about the chemistry, geology, and atmosphere of Mars while scientists are living on Earth.
From many compelling photographs and stories, you will learn about the scientists' personal experience in working on Mars. You will understand how using computer tools, humanity's reach now extends to another planet.
The lessons from the Mars Exploration Rover missions are relevant to our life on Earth, too for developing miniature scientific instruments, methods for visualizing scientific data, and robotic tools for accessing remote or dangerous environments. At the same time, you will appreciate better how people and computer systems are quite different, how we work in synergy with our tools and each other, and why we probably need to send people to Mars if we are to answer the riddle whether life also evolved on Mars.
For over seven years, hundreds of scientists have traveled together exploring the unknown lands of Mars. Primary among the mission scientific goals of the exploration is to search for and characterize a wide range of rocks and soils that hold clues that... life on Mars existed. Scientists identified two landing sites for the spacecraft at the opposite of Mars-the Gusev Crater and the Meridiani Planum, where mineral deposits suggested Mars had a wet past, thus the possibility that life has existed on Mars.
The exciting voyages of discovery at Gusev Crater and Meridiani Planum have developed a new practice for doing science using virtual reality tools to program a robotic laboratory and interpret data about the chemistry, geology, and atmosphere of Mars while scientists are living on Earth.
From many compelling photographs and stories, you will learn about the scientists' personal experience in working on Mars. You will understand how using computer tools, humanity's reach now extends to another planet.
Our Distinguished Speaker:
Dr. William J. Clancey,
Chief Scientist,
Human-Centered Computing, Intelligent Systems Division,
NASA Ames research Center,
USA
Post time 2-9-2010 09:20 PM
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