Mysterious hurricane was detected on Mars and no one knows how it formed

You may have heard that scientists know more about the surface of Mars than about the depths of the ocean here on Earth, right? After all, besides the Curiosity explorer scouring the Martian lands, there are several orbiting space probes there doing all kinds of monitoring and study - some for several years. But that doesn't mean the Red Planet doesn't surprise astronomers from time to time!

According to Mike MCrae of the Science Alert website, a team of NASA astronomers identified something very strange in one of the images recorded by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's MRO spacecraft about the south pole of Mars: a huge hole whose formation is a mystery. for scientists.

Mysterious ferret

You may have seen images of the surface of Mars and realized that it is covered with huge geological formations, craters and impact marks, right? According to estimates, the Red Planet has over 500, 000 signs of meteorite collisions, and we know that there are huge canyons and chasms there, as well as cavities created by collapsed old lava tubes and irregularities caused by volcanic activity. one day existed on the planet.

However, according to Mike, none of these structures appear to be as deep as that detected by MRO. As NASA scientists explained, the cavity was discovered in an area they called “Swiss cheese ground, ” characterized by circles of carbon dioxide that eventually melted with the arrival of the Martian summer. In fact, if you look more closely at the hole, you will notice that you can see ice inside. Check out:

There's a little ice there!

To give you an idea of ​​the size of the well, the image was captured by the HiRISE High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera from the space probe, capable of detecting objects larger than 1 meter at distances between 200 and 400 kilometers in altitude. NASA has revealed that, at scale, the map is projected at 50 centimeters per pixel, meaning that the hole is hundreds of meters in diameter.

But at the moment, space agency scientists have no idea how the hurricane formed. And if some crazy conspiracy theories have started popping into your mind to explain how something so big came up on Mars, be aware that astronomers are probably breaking their heads to determine if the well is the result of a collapse or if it was created by some rock. space that hit there.

***

Did you know that Curious Mega is also on Instagram? Click here to follow us and stay on top of exclusive curiosities!