Home / News / World News / Article /
Rolling stones left strange grooves on Mars moon: Study
Updated On: 21 November, 2018 12:59 PM IST | Washington | PTI
The models show that boulders rolling across the surface in the aftermath of the Stickney impact could have created the puzzling patterns of grooves seen on Phobos today
Listen to this article :
NASA
Strange grooves that crisscross the surface of the Martian moon Phobos were likely made by rolling boulders blasted free from an ancient asteroid impact, a study has found. The research, published in the journal Planetary and Space Science, used computer models to simulate the movement of debris from Stickney crater, a huge gash on one end of Phobos' oblong body. The models show that boulders rolling across the surface in the aftermath of the Stickney impact could have created the puzzling patterns of grooves seen on Phobos today.
"These grooves are a distinctive feature of Phobos, and how they formed has been debated by planetary scientists for 40 years," said Ken Ramsley, a planetary science researcher at Brown University in the US. "We think this study is another step toward zeroing in on an explanation," said Ramsley, who led the study. Phobos' grooves, which are visible across most of the moon's surface, were first glimpsed in the 1970s by NASA's Mariner and Viking missions. Over the years, there has been no shortage of explanations put forward for how they formed. Some scientists have posited that large impacts on Mars have showered the nearby moon with groove-carving debris. Others think that Mars' gravity is slowly tearing Phobos apart, and the grooves are signs of structural failure.
Trending Stories
Latest Photos
Latest Videos
Latest Web Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
Mid-Day Fast
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT