Yahoo News New Mars images ‘show rivers of water once flowed across the surface’
In the distant past, Mars was a very different place from the cold, dry world we see now – with new satellite images showing that water once flowed on the surface.
Images from ESA’s Mars Express satellite show a branching, desiccated system of trenches and valleys, signs of ancient water flow.
The images show a system of valleys in the southern highlands of Mars, located east of a large, well-known impact crater called Huygens and north of Hellas, the largest impact basin on the planet.
At 3.5 to four billion years old, the southern highlands show many signs of ancient water flow, the ESA ressearchers believe.
New images from Mars Express! They show a beautiful example of a dried out river valley network, a sign that #water was once flowing on the surface of #Mars.
Read more: https://t.co/7VmpIlaKEM pic.twitter.com/ma7jqCtpyM— ESA (@esa) February 21, 2019
The traces of ancient water hint that Mars must have once been a very different place – one that could, potentially, have supported life.
MORE: Cabinet trio warn they will help delay Brexit rather than leave Europe with no deal
MORE: Traveller duo who led 30 caravans on £300,000 brewery wrecking spree are jailed
The ESA writes, ‘Overall, the valley system appears to branch out significantly, forming a pattern a little like tree branches stemming from a central trunk.This kind of dendritic structure is also seen in drainage systems 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.
‘In the case of this image of Mars, these branching channels were likely formed by surface water runoff from a once-strong river flow, combined with extensive rainfall. This flow is thought to have cut through existing terrain on Mars, forging new paths and carving a new landscape.
