Strange sandstorms on Mars put scientists in a deadlock

Despite such a large-scale study of the forces of Mars orbiters, surface Rovers and earth telescopes, the Red planet, it seems, is still in stock many secrets, which often manifest themselves baffled even the most eminent astronomers of the present day. A study of one of these secrets, for example, is now engaged in the European space Agency, which is investigating the cases of the formation of unusual giant sand pillars and storms that occur here and there on the surface of Mars.

Scientists say the storm, which can be seen on the photographs, usually formed within 10 hours. The majority of them rises to a height of about 100 kilometers above the planet's surface and wanders within the next 10 days, then just disappears.





Astronomers say that in March and April 2012 they witnessed the formation of sand pillars, which rose to a height of about 250 kilometers above the surface. How and why are these sand emissions still remains a mystery that defies solution.





According to some scholars, the sandstorms are likely to contain frozen particles of water, carbon dioxide and dust, which, coming together to form something like a cloud. However, to confirm this hypothesis have not yet succeeded.

"One of the ideas discussed considering the formation of a kind of cloud of accumulated at these altitudes frozen particles of water, carbon dioxide or dust particles. However, in this case you would need to revise our standard model of the atmospheric circulation, in order to explain the formation of these clouds at this altitude," — said the astronomer Agustin Sanchez-Lavega.



Astronomers from the European space Agency believe that the project of the space mission ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, which will begin in 2016, will help to understand this issue and solve this mystery once and for all.

 

published

Source: hi-news.ru