May 30, 2016

Think the Grand Canyon's "Grand"? Naw, THIS is a "Grand Canyon"

marsglobe_viking_960.jpg

Mars will look good in Earth's skies over the next few days -- but not this good.

To get a view this amazing, a spacecraft had to actually visit the red planet. Running across the image center, though, is one the largest canyons in the Solar System. Named Valles Marineris, the grand valley extends over 3,000 kilometers long, spans as much as 600 kilometers across, and delves as much as 8 kilometers deep. By comparison, the Earth's Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA is 800 kilometers long, 30 kilometers across, and 1.8 kilometers deep. The origin of the Valles Marineris remains unknown, although a leading hypothesis holds that it started as a crack billions of years ago as the planet cooled. Several geologic processes have been identified in the canyon. The featured mosaic was created from over 100 images of Mars taken by Viking Orbiters in the 1970s. Tomorrow, Mars and Earth will pass the closest in 11 years, resulting in the red planet being quite noticeable toward the southeast after sunset. APOD: 2016 May 29 - Valles Marineris: The Grand Canyon of Mars

Posted by gerardvanderleun at May 30, 2016 5:50 PM
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"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.

Perhaps rather than put up with cold Canada, Sharpton et al, can go there when Trump get's elected? But, on second thought, I'd still rather he spend the rest of his days at Parchman or Angola. Whoopie can go to Mars.

Posted by: Will at May 31, 2016 4:49 PM

Screw Mars for Whoppie! Ship her to Somalia. Maybe someone will slap her fat ass into a caravan heading into Yemen where she can enjoy all the sexual pleasures she's been denied in America.

Posted by: Vermont Woodchuck at June 1, 2016 2:39 PM

Whoopie Goldberg a sex slave in Yemen? Not while they still have goats.

Posted by: Steve in Greensboro at June 4, 2016 2:04 AM