07/14/2019 / By Stephanie Diaz
Mars has always been a fascination ever since it was discovered. Modern technology is always at work in uncovering what can be learned from the Red Planet. New satellite images taken by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars Express Satellite now help paint a clearer picture of Mars before it became the cold, dry world it’s kno wn today.
These new satellite images showed vast systems of trenches and valleys which indicate that Mars once had intricate river systems with flowing water. Centuries of erosion could not hide the evidence; satellite imagery revealed a certain region on Mars that had ancient valleys hundreds of meters deep. The valleys form a branching pattern known as dendritic system, which is a drainage system characterized by having numerous channels.
Similar dendritic systems can be found on Earth. “A particularly good example is that of the Yarlung Tsangpo river, which snakes its way from its source in western Tibet down through China, India, and Bangladesh,” ESA explained.
“We see Mars as a cold, dry world, but plenty of evidence suggests that this was not always the case,” said ESA. “Research in past years instead increasingly indicates that the planet once had a thicker, denser atmosphere that was able to lock in far greater amounts of warmth, and therefore facilitate and support the flow of liquid water on the surface below.”
Mars is the fourth planet from the sun and is one of the rocky planets in the solar system. It is named after the mythological Roman god of war. It is often called the Red Planet because of the color of its surface. These are just some of the interesting facts about Mars. Learn more about the red planet below.
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Tagged Under: astronomy, breakthrough, cosmic, dendritic system, discoveries, ESA, future science, Mars, Mars Express Satellite, Mars missions, outer space, planets, real history, red planet, river systems, satellite imagery, satellite images, Space, space exploration, water on Mars
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