Earthquake on Mars

The surface of Mars seems to be shaking by earthquakes in recent times, scientists announced.

>>>Mars used to have an ocean

Photographs by the spacecraft Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show many rocks falling from a cliff on the surface of Mars and leaving deep trenches on the dust. The stones have a diameter of 2 to 20m. The phenomenon of falling rock takes place in an area with a radius of 100km. The center of this area is a point near the Cerberus Fossae fault lines, because the rock density falls at this point to the highest level, Space said.

'That phenomenon is consistent with some hypotheses that rocks on Mars fall due to earthquakes. The vibration level is maximized in the epicenter and gradually decreases at further points , 'said Gerald Roberts, a researcher at the University of London in England.

Earthquakes on Mars happen quite recently.

Robert and colleagues predicted the magnitude of the earthquake to be about 7 on the Richter scale - equivalent to the intensity of the earthquake that robbed the lives of about 300,000 Haitian people in 2010. It is likely that the earthquake was caused by the transfer. dynamics of lava below a volcano called Elysium Mons nearby.

Because the winds on Mars have not yet erased traces that deep trenches on the surface were created by rocks as they rolled, the team identified the earthquake quite recently. They didn't even rule out the possibility that the red planet was still shaking today. If seismic occurrence by volcanic activity is good news for those who want to hunt for life on the red planet, because the heat from active volcanoes can cause the ice layers below the Martian surface to melt. into water. That process will lead to the emergence of underground reservoirs - where life can form and grow.