The European Space Agency (ESA) has revealed a new image from the surface of Mars showing the now-famous “spiders” in the Inca City area.
Of course, these aren't real spiders, but a phenomenon that results from seasonal bursts of carbon dioxide gas on the Red Planet . These bursts create small, dark, spider- like formations in the Inca City area of Mars' south polar region. Images taken by ESA's Mars Express Orbiter and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter show clusters of dots that appear to have tiny legs and look like baby spiders huddled together.
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The spider formations are created when the weather starts to warm in the southern hemisphere during the Martian spring, melting layers of carbon. The lower layers of ice melt and turn into gas. As the gas expands and rises, it explodes and removes the layers of ice , carrying with it dark dust from the solid surface. During this phenomenon, this spider-like pattern is created on the surface of Mars.
The Inca City area on Mars, where the spiders appear whenever this phenomenon occurs, is also known as Angustus Labyrinthus. It was named so for its linear ridges that resemble ruins. They were once thought to be fossilized sand dunes or perhaps remnants of ancient Martian glaciers, which had left behind tall walls of sediment as they retreated.
See also: Dunes and icy rocks at the north pole of Mars
In 2002, however, the Mars Orbiter revealed that Inca City is part of a circular feature, about 86 km wide. This feature could perhaps be an old crater . In this case, the geometric ridges could be intrusions of magma that rose through the cracked, heated crust of Mars after being struck by a celestial body. The crater would then have filled with sediment, which has since eroded, creating this environment that looks like ancient ruins.
However, this region of Mars is of particular interest both for the spiders it displays and for its structure in general. The spider phenomenon helps to understand the climate dynamics of Mars. The seasonal release of carbon dioxide in gaseous form reveals information about the ice and temperature cycles on the planet.
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Furthermore, this phenomenon can reveal information about the evolution of the Martian landscape. These eruptions create geomorphological structures that can be studied to understand how the planet over time.
Finally, studying Martian spiders can help us understand the possibility of life on the planet. The presence of carbon dioxide and other gases may be an indication of the possibility of microbial life in the past or even in the present.
Source: www.livescience.com
