'Oddly' shaped Mars crater is studied

[Judi Lynn]

'Oddly' shaped Mars crater is studied
Published: March. 4, 2011 at 8:21 PM

http://photos.upi.com.nyud.net:8090/story/t/38d611416e232f48f5dd3d65032afa70/Oddly-shaped-Mars-crater-is-studied.jpg

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope took this close-
up of the red planet Mars when it was just 55
million miles (88 million kilometers) away on
December 17, 2007. Mars will be at its brightest
on December 24, 2007 as it aligns directly
opposite of the sun, and will not be as visible
for another nine years. This color image was
assembled from a series of exposures taken
within 36 hours of the Mars closest approach
with Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2.
(UPI Photo/NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team)

PARIS, March 4 (UPI) -- European scientists say an image of an odd, elongated crater on Mars suggests it was carved out by a train of objects hitting the surface at a shallow angle.

The image was one of many returned by the European Space Agency's Mars Express probe of the planet's heavily cratered southern highlands, an ESA release said Friday.

The unnamed elongated crater is about 48 miles long, opens from just under 6 miles wide at one end to 15 miles at the other, and is more than a mile deep at it deepest point.

Impact craters are generally round because the projectiles that create them are driven deep into the ground before the shock wave of the impact can explode outwards, researchers say.

More:
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2011/03/04/Oddly-shaped-Mars-crater-is-studied/UPI-13021299288060/

[DLnyc]

1. Another article

From European Space Agency:
http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMTK5VTLKG_index_0.html
One of the cool pictures:
http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMTK5VTLKG_index_1.html

[Poll_Blind]

2. My god, it's shaped like a leetle piece of torn paper.

And, so, K&R!

PB

[Wilms]

3. Is the ESA sure the Beagle didn't leave that mark?

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