'Chaos' Theories (5-07-03)

 
 
...from Aram Chaos, pg2

'Knobs', 'Bumps', 'Colles' and 'Chaos'. These are the now familar names given to some of Mars strangest and possibly most incredible features.

I have long known of the Phobos II IR image of Hydraotes Chaos and just how significant it was.

If the opinion is (including the one about the original Phobos II images) that Hydraote Chaos revealed in Thermal IR has a good possiblity of being artificial, how does other 'Chaos' terrain compare ?

I found some to be interesting.

NOTE: I would have liked to have gone into much more detail than I was able to (my PC's about dead), so you should be able to find many more things in the images than what I highlighted.. sorry about any typos, I was lucky to even get this online... LOOK CLOSELY at the images many weird things..

Quick Definitions:
(“Chaos” means “Distinctive area of broken terrain”)
(“Colles” means “Small hill or knob”)
  

'Hydraote' Chaos Revisited




March 1, 1989 Phobos II image of 'Hydraote' Chaos (left)  and Hydraotes Chaos (right)
Why does an 'S' make such a difference ? Well I couldn't find Hydraote Chaos for sometime
- it was easy to find it after searching with an 'S'. The photo comparison above is 
cropped to show it is the exact same area Phobos II took IR images of.


Check this article at The Enterprise Mission if you haven't already

What I found suprising is that all of the shots OF Hydraotes 
Chaos (not around) all have a center longitude 33 degrees.


Of course all I'm really asking - 
What does NASA really think of Mars... and life for that matter ?


What Phobos II IR camera really saw at Hydraotes Chaos 
(above, left)




______________________________________________________________________________

Click on the image for a larger view
Image                                                                                       Center Longitude

SP238503  TERRACED MESAS AND INTERVENING TROUGH IN HYDRAOTES CHAOS - 33.86° 
M0204247  Mesa with at least 3 terraces on NW-facing side Hydraotes Chaos - 33.12°
M0400612  red wide angle image - 33.80°
M0400614  layered mesas in chaotic terrain  - 33.91°
M0804631  Chaos terrain mesas in Hydraotes Chaos  - 33.61°
M0903790  Sample valley between mesas in Hydraotes Chaos  - 34.10°
M1400257  benches on knobs and mesas in Hydraotes Chaos  - 33.77°

Browse the Mars Global Surveyor search engine for all the images
Hydraotes Chaos Gallery
Then, NASA held a press conference on "a whole new Mars", and released this image of
Hydaspis Chaos 13 years TO THE DAY after the Phobos II images.. 

The descrirption given is "This image captures a region of chaotic terrain about 106 kilometers 
(65 miles) long and 32 kilometers (20 miles) wide. The channel that feeds into the chaos at 
the bottom of the image is about 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) wide and 280 meters (930 feet) deep. 
The image was acquired on February 19, 2002. North is to the right of the image"

Infrared image of Hydaspis Chaos, for 'Chaos' terrain notice how neat and organized 
everything is, check out The Enterprise Mission article on this to find out more.


Heres a different look at the same area.

Browse MGS images of Hydaspis Chaos


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