On April 30th, the "Mars canals," "Martian face," "Martian base gate," and similar phenomena are likely familiar to many. These are actually results of Mars' unique terrain combined with human imagination. Now, the European Space Agency has captured a particularly eerie photo on Mars.
In the southern polar region of Mars lies a place called "Inca City," officially known as "Angustus Labyrinthus," discovered as early as 1972 by NASA's Mariner 9 spacecraft. Its linear ridge network evokes images of Inca ruins, hence the name.
In the latest images taken by the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter, one can distinctly see a cluster of "spiders" crawling on the ground, each with long, slender "legs," gathered together as if they had just hatched.
Of course, these are not real spiders. In fact, they are vents for underground Martian gases, akin to intermittent eruptions of small volcanoes or geysers, with widths ranging from 45 meters to as much as 1000 meters.
When the Martian weather warms up, the underground dry ice heats up, sublimates into carbon dioxide gas, expands, breaks through the overlying ice layer, and sprays out, carrying dark sand from below, creating such a spectacle.
On the left is an overview of an Inca city, with the circle indicating the location of the site shown on the right.
As for the peculiar lines of the "Inca city," initially thought to be petrified sand dunes or remnants of ancient glaciers.
However, subsequent investigations suggest that it should belong to a part of an ancient meteorite crater, where lava flowed out from the cracks after the impact. Subsequently, sediments once filled the crater, which were gradually eroded away, leaving behind a city-like ruin.
Inca City Digital Model
Inca City Cross-Section View
The Inca City and Surrounding Terrain Captured by the European Space Agency's Mars Express Probe.
