Mercury was alive with volcanoes

While it seems like a geologically dead planet today, early in its history tiny Mercury may have been a caldron of volcanic activity, Nasa scientists said on Wednesday.

Data from the US space agency’s car-sized Messenger probe’s latest close encounter with the planet nearest the sun on Oct. 6 is helping to settle a debate dating back to the 1970s over the role volcanoes played in Mercury’s history. Messenger sent back images showing extensive and deep lava flows on the surface, including hardened lava more than 2 km deep filling a crater 100 km in diameter.

The unmanned spacecraft also detected a so-called “wrinkle ridge,” a long geological feature on Mercury’s surface about 600 metres high apparently caused by contraction of the planet as it cooled, the scientists said.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit:
http://epaper.asianage.com/Asian/AAge/2008/10/31/index.shtml

What on Mars is that?

Life on Mars? Well, bizarre images have emerged showing a mystery female figure walking down a hill on the arid planet.

The photo of what looks like a naked woman with her arm outstretched was among several taken on the red planet and sent back to earth by Nasa's Mars explorer "Spirit," Britain's Daily Mail reported on Wednesday, citing an unnamed website.

Though no official confirmation has come from Nasa on whether the figure is an alien or an optical illusion caused by the landscape on Mars, it has set the Internet abuzz about the possibility of life on Mars.

As one enthusiast put it on the website: "These pictures are amazing. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw what appears to be a naked alien running around on Mars."

The news of the mystery woman on Mars came just days after a team of French scientists claimed to have discovered proof that the red planet possesses...