View Full Version : Strange Formation On The Planet Mercury
I have studied this photo several times since it was first published last year. I find it to be extremely unusual, as do scientists apparently.
At first it looks like an impact, but then one quickly sees the blast "troughs" don't line up. Can't be a lava flow, as that wouldn't carve the ground out like that. Certainly not water that close to the sun.
The couple of possible explanations listed seem not to cut it. What would cause the ground to shift so oddly? Europa has a solid yet shifting surface of ice, but the shifting fault lines don't bend or warp so strangely. Neither do earthquake faults here on Earth.
We have some smart folks here, and it is an interesting picture if nothing else. Just curious if any here might have a reasonable suggestion.
http://www.solarviews.com/cap/vss/VSS00092.htm
Heavy Metal
07-13-09, 19:52
Definately an impact crater. See the peak in the center of it? That is classic in an impact crater.
Mr.Goodtimes
07-13-09, 20:05
i guess i can take off my tin foil hat now and put the guns away... i was thinking it was aliens. Was gettin ready for some "Signs" stuff.
Definately an impact crater. See the peak in the center of it? That is classic in an impact crater.
While there clearly appears to be an impact crater in the photo, the extending trenches do not correspond to such due to the lack of straight lines extending directly from the center.
This is really the whole point of the question, as stated.
Heavy Metal
07-13-09, 20:30
While there clearly appears to be an impact crater in the photo, the extending trenches do not correspond to such due to the lack of straight lines extending directly from the center.
This is really the whole point of the question, as stated.
Mabey it obliterated a pre-existing structure and the two coinciding is just an accident.
Mabey it obliterated a pre-existing structure and the two coinciding is just an accident.
While I truly appreciate your feedback, I must disagree. Even the scientists don't suggest it is simply an impact as conveyed in the article/photo summary.
It is definitely something else, as clearly also defined by the bizarre pattern of extending trenches. Some clearly turn and curve in a very unusual way for a natural formation extending from a single point of impact. Or even two in the same area.
And I am not saying it is not natural, I just can't begin to explain the cause and as a semi-knowledgeable amateur find the current explanations very hollow.
Heavy Metal
07-13-09, 21:20
I still say impact due the central peak.
Don't discount wierd lighting tricks based on the sun angle.
4thPointOfContact
07-13-09, 21:24
Small planet, almost a planetoid.
Big impact crater
Very extreme temperature variations over the planet -300 to +800 F (-180 +420 C), or so.
BIG Honking sun just next door with a ton of gravity and heat which likely cause geologic movement/transformation much quicker than on planets much further away, perhaps?
That is a result of a stray round from my M203. Sorry to have caused this alarm.
Small planet, almost a planetoid.
Big impact crater
Very extreme temperature variations over the planet -300 to +800 F (-180 +420 C), or so.
BIG Honking sun just next door with a ton of gravity and heat which likely cause geologic movement/transformation much quicker than on planets much further away, perhaps?
Not taking anything away from your potential analysis, but this seems to be the mainstream version. Looking at it, I am very skeptical, as are many others.
Then again, the best theory of the overall universe going in physics today is the "Brane" theory suggesting 11 dimensions. What the **** do I know.
While there clearly appears to be an impact crater in the photo, the extending trenches do not correspond to such due to the lack of straight lines extending directly from the center.
This is really the whole point of the question, as stated.
Impact crater in the center, some other event caused the other trenches. Gotta remember Mercury doesn't have plate tectonics so the surface is the same as it was billions of years ago. Also doesn't really have an atmosphere so there is no weathering to speak of. Two separate events could have happened a billion years apart to create the unique feature.
The one that really gets me is the storm on Jupiter (big red spot) that apparently has been ongoing in more or less the same location of centuries. That is one bad ass Cat 9 hurricane.
...some other event caused the other trenches...
I see.
Gotta remember Mercury doesn't have plate tectonics so the surface is the same as it was billions of years ago. Also doesn't really have an atmosphere so there is no weathering to speak of. Two separate events could have happened a billion years apart to create the unique feature.
Correct, there are no known plate tectonics. Now if you will just elaborate as to the specific cause of the formations a bit further...
...The one that really gets me is the storm on Jupiter (big red spot) that apparently has been ongoing in more or less the same location of centuries. That is one bad ass Cat 9 hurricane.
They say several Earths could fit inside it.
:)
dookie1481
07-14-09, 00:25
I have studied this photo several times since it was first published last year. I find it to be extremely unusual, as do scientists apparently.
At first it looks like an impact, but then one quickly sees the blast "troughs" don't line up. Can't be a lava flow, as that wouldn't carve the ground out like that. Certainly not water that close to the sun.
The couple of possible explanations listed seem not to cut it. What would cause the ground to shift so oddly? Europa has a solid yet shifting surface of ice, but the shifting fault lines don't bend or warp so strangely. Neither do earthquake faults here on Earth.
We have some smart folks here, and it is an interesting picture if nothing else. Just curious if any here might have a reasonable suggestion.
http://www.solarviews.com/cap/vss/VSS00092.htm
I'm only a sciency -type nerd, and have no formal astronomy training, so take it for what it's worth, but the lines radiating outward strongly suggest an impact.
Jay
Correct, there are no known plate tectonics. Now if you will just elaborate as to the specific cause of the formations a bit further...
Clearly it was caused by [currently nobody knows for sure]. It should be noted that [currently nobody knows for sure] is responsible for a lot of shit.
But that is definitely the result of [currently nobody knows for sure] if I've ever seen one.
:D
spamsammich
07-14-09, 01:03
That's obviously the impact from a 10mm round. I accidentally let one get away once when I was cleaning a Glock. I thought it was pointed in a safe direction, I was obviously mistaken. My bad.
whats the elevation at that location? perhaps shit rolled down hill.. and the warbly lines are the trails of thoroughly smoked privates staggering away.
i guess i can take off my tin foil hat now and put the guns away... i was thinking it was aliens. Was gettin ready for some "Signs" stuff.
Dammit, cheated again!
Clearly it was caused by [currently nobody knows for sure]. It should be noted that [currently nobody knows for sure] is responsible for a lot of shit.
But that is definitely the result of [currently nobody knows for sure] if I've ever seen one.
:D
That seems to sum up the viewpoints of most. Now, when are we going to get something more concrete? This the best we can do?
How frustrating that there is no one here in this firearms forum that can decipher this oddity of extra-terrestrial geography that has scientists baffled for us.
What ineptitude. :mad:
Gutshot John
07-14-09, 09:16
It's an organic process rather than catastrophic event.
I'm pretty sure Mercury has heavy volcanic activity and that center lump seems to be more about a vent than an impact. Based on one year of geology in college, I'm betting it's volcanism.
An impact may have occurred there, but it has been subsequently shaped by eruption. Notice the flattened appearance, typical of lava. If it were impact the lump would be much more sharply defined and would have had to been flattened by erosive forces that don't exist in a planet without atmosphere and water. The irregular lines might be caused by the irregular flow of lava from the center as it flowed out into the crater.
I might say it looks like a "maar" but with no water on Mercury, that might be problematic.
No water on Mercury? Maybe not now, or permanently, but what if a body of significant size, made of ice impacted the surface. The troughs could be a result of the run off prior to evaporation. Do you think there'd be enough time for the ice to melt and retract to the crater being it's so hot? I'm sure it'd have to be a very large body of ice. Just a thought.
CryingWolf
07-14-09, 09:43
An impact crater that caused volcanic activity at the impact site. Or a volcano that was hit by a meteorite. Put the two together.
An impact crater that caused volcanic activity at the impact site. Or a volcano that was hit by a meteorite. Put the two together.
Possible, but since when does lava carve trenches in the ground as opposed to covering it?
Also, the surrounding surface appears very flat overall except for the smaller craters. I say this because shadowing is apparent in the craters, but not around the volcanic mound (or lack of) itself. What was this lava flowing down if there in no apparent raised surface there? Where did it settle?
Gutshot John
07-14-09, 10:23
The troughs could be a result of the run off prior to evaporation.
Troughs like that would take a long time to cut, any water vapor would disappear quickly with no atmosphere. A comet made of ice would have been vaporized in the impact and blown off the planet by solar wind.
It might have had "some" water initially but that would have been subsurface.
Troughs like that would take a long time to cut, any water vapor would disappear quickly with no atmosphere. A comet made of ice would have been vaporized in the impact and blown off the planet by solar wind.
It might have had "some" water initially but that would have been subsurface.
I was reading about Mercury when I came across it's unusual "day cycle" (http://cseligman.com/text/planets/mercuryrot.htm). I bet that water could sit for a long time on the dark side during it's slow rotation. Anyways, it was just some random thoughts as they really do look like run off troughs.
Europa
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/science/kiefer/Education/SSRG2-Europa/europa.html
Lunar craters
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/science/kiefer/Education/SSRG2-Craters/craterstructure.html
The central impression has all the characteristics of an impact crater, while the outward radii seem to be from debris coming out of the impact crater. Large pieces would chew their way in to the surface leaving deep tracts in their wake. Combine that with no apparent weather to obscure these and you have your image. My theory.
-Mike
The central impression has all the characteristics of an impact crater, while the outward radii seem to be from debris coming out of the impact crater. Large pieces would chew their way in to the surface leaving deep tracts in their wake. Combine that with no apparent weather to obscure these and you have your image. My theory.
Great references, thanks.
But you, like others, are failing to explain the irregularities in the lines that you surmise are radiating from a single point of impact. This is clearly not the case when you look closely. There are either clear liquid erosion trenches there or the ground has been warped somehow.
The images from Europa are compelling and even relevant. But this is not ice, it's rock. I can't possibly envision the ground contorting itself is such a strange way in such a confined area due to simple plate shifting. But as suggested earlier, the exceptionally strong influence of the sun at that close distance may play a part in strange land movements.
Ridge_Runner_5
07-14-09, 12:07
I'd say an impact, broke the crust and all that is magma that flowed out and hardened...
That seems to sum up the viewpoints of most. Now, when are we going to get something more concrete? This the best we can do?
How frustrating that there is no one here in this firearms forum that can decipher this oddity of extra-terrestrial geography that has scientists baffled for us.
What ineptitude. :mad:
I'm putting my money on it being ancient Martian explorers who left a distinctive signature on the planet when they visited it. And then that "Mars Spider" God just happen to get nailed by an asteroid.
Ancient Martians were big on making signature features that could be seen easily by extra terrestrial explorers.
http://www.giftsandfreeadvice.com/free_advice/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/face_on_mars.jpg
:D
I'd say an impact, broke the crust and all that is magma that flowed out and hardened...
I'm just not going to say it again.
I appreciate strategic planning as much as the next guy, but I really think we should concentrate on finishing the Earth's destruction before we start plotting on Mercury.
Ridge_Runner_5
07-14-09, 14:39
I'm just not going to say it again.
Reading the whole thread is for suckas:D
kaiservontexas
07-14-09, 16:00
We all know it was a secret government weapon's test conducted by NASAs secret fleet of spaceships we got from the Grays back in the late 40s. :eek:
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.