The attention of specialists analyzing the images transmitted from the Martian orbit by the automatic station Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), was attracted by something very strange.
In the low-resolution photo taken with the CTX camera, an object of absolutely regular geometric shape was visible. It was located in the vicinity of the Pavonis volcano, located near the equator of Mars. He looked completely awkward in the middle of the snowy expanses of the neighboring planet - a kind of foreign body. And from a height he looked like an artificial structure - a glass dome shining in the sun.
The “dome” was photographed once again using a high-resolution camera - HiRISE. In its enlarged form, it, of course, ceased to look like the creation of alien hands. But it did not cease to amaze.
Scientists have seen that the "dome" is actually upside down. And it is a huge funnel with absolutely smooth edges. There was a hole at the very bottom. From this, the object already resembled either a giant toilet bowl, or a sink. (The original NASA image can be viewed here).
The sun's rays fell into the funnel so that they highlighted its bottom, which looked like some kind of flat floor. And this allowed specialists to determine the scale of the object.
“We estimate that the diameter of the hole at the bottom of the funnel is about 35 meters,” says Shane Byrne of the University of Arizona, who is responsible for the HiRISE camera. - To the "floor" - about 20 meters. The diameter of the funnel itself along the upper edge is about 200 meters.
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There are still holes
No toilet sinks have been seen on Mars until now. But the holes came across. They were first spotted in pictures taken in 2007. Then I managed to see 7 pieces at once.
One of the holes, also located on a vast plateau, but in the Arsia Mons area, scientists tried to investigate - remotely, of course - with all possible care. Photographed several times at different angles and under different lighting conditions. But, in the end, we saw only the walls of the hole. And they never saw the bottom. The diameter, however, was determined - about 100 meters.
It seems, experts believe, that the holes are made in some kind of crust. And it, in turn, was formed by volcanic lava. "Lava tubes" - subsurface channels for the movement of lava - are found on Earth. Formed by a stream of molten rock that solidifies from above. At the same time, the main volume of lava continues to move and leaves empty space behind it. A kind of tunnel.
It seems clear how the holes were formed - most likely they were punched by meteorites. But how did the funnel come about? The impression is that something has sucked the snow inside. Traces are visible along the edges of the funnel, indicating that the snow continues to slide into the hole. Why is not clear.
Scientists admit that they cannot yet explain the nature of the "toilet sink".
Some researchers do not exclude that branched caves are located under the surface of Mars - a kind of catacombs, in which liquid water and even life can exist. According to this hypothesis, the holes represent the entrances to the Martian catacombs.
The catacomb hypothesis is supported by the fact that not all holes have a bottom visible. Which leaves hope for their "cave" origin of the hole.
By the way, future colonists are seriously counting on caves and catacombs as ideal places for placing Martian bases.