The prospect of a moist Mars fostering primitive life forms has excited scientific interest in exploration of the Red Planet. But a new, rival theory has emerged that tries to undermine evidence of water and leave the idea of a wet planet literally in the dust.
May 7th, 2003
New Mars Water Theory Looks at Wind Discovery News
Mars’ most celebrated watery feature may not form from water at all, but from wind, says a geologist who has found the driest, dustiest explanation yet for Martian gullies.
March 31st, 2003
The Nuclear Heart of the Earth
What would we find if we were to dig a hole all the way down to the centre of the Earth? According to high school science books we would discover a liquid iron alloy core and a smaller solid inner core at the center. For ten years, geophysicist J. Marvin Herndon has presented increasingly persuasive evidence that at the very centre of the Earth, within the inner core, there exists a five mile in diameter sphere of uranium which acts as a natural nuclear reactor.
March 12th, 2003
Deep Down, Mars is a Softie Astronomy.com
Mars may be the god of war, but its namesake planet apparently has a soft heart. Information from the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft suggests the martian core is at least partially fluid. In a paper published online by Science on March 7, a team of scientists from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and California Institute of Technology report on their analysis of more than three years of orbital data from Mars Global Surveyor.
March 6th, 2003
Mars Core Squishy, Goes with the Tidal Flow
A new study concludes that the core of Mars is the consistency of the syrupy goop found inside chocolate-covered fruit candy. The inference was made simply by noting minor changes in the position of a Mars-orbiting spacecraft, caused by tides. Yes, tides on Mars. While one commonly thinks of tides having to do with oceans on Earth, and being generated only by the Moon, the inner parts of heavenly bodies endure tides, too. On Earth, gravity from both the Moon and the Sun fuel ocean tides and simultaneously stretch and pull the entire planet by less noticeable amounts. Mars, too, is tidally tweaked by the Sun.
February 20th, 2003
NASA’s Mars Odyssey Points To Melting Snow As Cause Of Gullies ScienceDaily
Images from the visible light camera on NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft, combined with images from NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor, suggest melting snow is the likely cause of the numerous eroded gullies first documented on Mars in 2000 by Global Surveyor.
February 20th, 2003
Ravines on Mars may be made by snow Independent Online
Ravines and gullies visible at the surface of Mars could have been dug not by subterranean water but rather by melting snow on the planet’s surface, according to a study released on Wednesday.
February 20th, 2003
Water-Eroded Gullies Discovered on Mars Voice of America
Two U.S. spacecraft orbiting Mars have found signs that liquid water can survive on the Red Planet, despite its freezing climate and thin atmosphere. The clues pointing to this are recently discovered gullies apparently eroded by the water.
February 20th, 2003
NASA: Mars’ missing water may flow under snow Seattle Times
Water flowed across Mars in recent times and could be flowing today, one of NASA’s principal Mars investigators said yesterday. Arizona State University geologist Phil Christensen, using detailed photos from the Mars Odyssey spacecraft, also may have unraveled one of the planet’s biggest mysteries:
February 20th, 2003
Martian gullies ‘carved by water’
Previous explanations have included water bubbling up from underground springs or frozen carbon dioxide. The latest theory, by a US geologist, depends on the slight “wobble” of the planet.