Although it was earlier than a mere 65 million years ago, I hold that the planet Oberon which is now just part of the asteroid belt debris was destroyed leaving its moon Mars with the unique scars of that cataclysm. The great 2000 mile rift of Mars is not from fluvial erosion but a unique blast scar caused by an enormous interplanetary lightening bolt stretching 200,000 miles from the charged plasma resulting from the great impact on Oberon. As the debris field approched Mars it allowed the charge to pass between the two bodies. Before you claim this impossible study the features of the rift. I could be wrong but this is how I picture it: Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! close up Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I agree on a "recent" catastrophe to Mars, but disagree on the method. Valles Marineris is possibly the rip from an upwelling, along with the Tharsis bulge, after one or more huge impacts hit on the other side, one creating the Helles crater. http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/MarsV/rania.htm Is it the correct explanation, I'm not sure...but it's plausible. Now, could these impacts been from some planetoid destroyed as you say, leaving the asteroids behind? I know some scientists have traces asteroids back to group them into I believe 7 different families...that's about as far as they've gone. But I don't know if they determined the approximate timeline for these families to divide. I think something indeed happened, but we won't know a lot of the details until we get to Mars.
Actually the asteroid belt does not equal enough mass to match the moon. So Oberon would have been a tiny moon of mars not the other way around.
Hum, I think that the early solar system contained over a hundred planets... most of these were expelled or swallowed by jupiter or the sun. Some defiantly collided. But the time scale is billions of years ago... As for the lightening theory (sry to be blunt) , no way! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Really cool picture.... but I think the leading theory for the formation of Valles Marineris is that it formed as the planet cooled and the crust contracted, and was aided by some traditional erosion. I'd have to check to make sure I'm remembering correctly but that's what comes to mind...
Depends what you call a 'planet'. Certainly, there were lots of small planetoids that coalesced. Cheers, Ron. P.S 'Defiantly'? Definitely? 'Lightening' (from Don's original post)? Lightning?
