Mars is not like another planet in our photo voltaic system attributable to its distinct ellipsoidal form, having totally different sizes alongside all three axes. Whereas it has two tiny moons right now, the Crimson Planet may need as soon as hosted a a lot bigger moon, in keeping with a concept proposed by Michael Efroimsky, an astronomer on the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. This moon, probably named Nerio, might have performed a major function in shaping the planet’s present topography, together with its huge highlands and deep valleys.
Mars distinctive panorama
Mars is house to a few of the most excessive options within the photo voltaic system, together with the Tharsis bulge, a area about 5,000 kilometres huge and as much as 7 kilometres excessive. On the other aspect of the planet lies Terra Sabaea, one other highland space, together with Syrtis Main, a large protect volcano.
These distinctive options might be remnants of Mars’ historical moon elevating tides within the planet’s magma oceans, very like how Earth’s moon raises tides in our seas, in keeping with a study revealed within the on-line journal arXiv.
The thriller of Nerio’s disappearance
In keeping with Efroimsky, the moon Nerio might have been destroyed by a collision or scattered out of the photo voltaic system attributable to gravitational interactions. Whereas such occasions had been frequent within the early photo voltaic system, no clear proof, corresponding to crater strings, factors to this occurring on Mars. It is doable geological actions might have erased any indicators of Nerio’s existence.
Whereas the speculation stays speculative, it means that Mars’ dramatic panorama might have been formed by each Nerio and subsequent geological processes. Efroimsky encourages additional analysis to discover the potential proof for this misplaced moon and its impression on Mars’ distinctive options.
