An image surprised by NASA on Mars seems to show a forest of trees rising from the dunes of the red planet. The photograph, taken by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and again distributed by the American Space Agency, has immediately aroused curiosity and unique theories.
Scientists explained the photo. Photo: x / @qikipedia
NASA also offers the scientific explanation: there are no trees, but dark sand dunes caused by ice melting.
“These trees grow on Mars? No”, NASA explained. “It is about the dark brownish photographed on dunes covered with haze, near the North Martian pole.”
The streams are, in fact, traces left by the dark sand sliding on the slopes of the dunes, after the carbon dioxide ice melts in the spring. The strong contrast between dark sand and open ice creates the illusion of tree -like silhouettes, The Sun reports.
Other “mysteries” in Martian sand
Mars does not lack bizarre forms that light the imagination of the Internet users. Over time, NASA and ESA robots surprised:
– A buried human face – the image was captured in September by the Perseverance Rover and seems to show a prominent eyebrow figure, nostrils and a sloping mouth. Of course, it is just a form of relief created by erosion.
– The angel at the South Pole – a photo taken by Mars Express (ESA) in December 2020 shows a form of relief that resembles an angel with a heart next to it. And here, the effect was caused by melting the ice on the surface.
– A “Martian bone” – in 2014, the Rover Curiity sent an image with a stone formation that resembles a human femur. The researchers have clarified that it is just a strange rock modeled by wind and water.
– Mysterious pit – in 2017, NASA identified a deep circular pit near the South Pole, which could be an impact crater or a “collapse hole”. Some researchers speculate that such formations could lead to underground networks where life could be protected from radiation.
