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Credit & Copyright: Viking Project,
Explanation:
The largest canyon in the
Solar System cuts a wide swath across the face of
Mars.
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.
Recently,
several geologic processes have been identified in
the canyon.
The above mosaic was
created from over 100 images of
Mars taken by
Viking Orbiters in the 1970s.
News:
Mars closest in over 50,000 years on Wednesday
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Mars - mariner valley - Viking project
Publications with words: Mars - mariner valley - Viking project
See also:
- Full Moon, Full Mars
- APOD: 2025 January 15 Á Wolf Moon Engulfs Mars
- APOD: 2024 December 3 Á Ice Clouds over a Red Planet
- APOD: 2024 November 10 Á Valles Marineris: The Grand Canyon of Mars
- APOD: 2024 September 9 Á Mars: Moon, Craters, and Volcanos
- APOD: 2024 June 5 Á Shadow of a Martian Robot
- Ares 3 Landing Site: The Martian Revisited