We Earthlings have an Earth-centered idea of the Universe and that’s probably okay. From sunrise to sunset (and beyond), we eat, drink, work and sleep on one planet. Human colonies on the Moon and Mars are still in the concept phase. Until then, it’s a blue planet for us.
Because of our Earth-centered thoughts, it’s hard to imagine that the largest cannon in the Solar System isn’t on Earth. Sorry Grand Canyon, but a canyon system on Mars takes the cake here. And the European Space Agency has clicked a picture of it.
Valles Marineris, the canyon system of Mars, is longer, wider and deeper than the Grand Canyon. It is 4000 kilometers long, 200 kilometers wide and up to 7 km deep. These dimensions are much larger than those of the Grand Canyon. To put things in Indian perspective, the length of Valles Marineris is greater than the distance between Kashmir and Kanyakumari.
The Valles Marineris image was captured by ESA’s Mars Express. The image shows two trenches, called Chasma in the western region of Valles Marineris. The left part of the image is south direction. The 840-kilometer-long Lus Chasma can be seen there, and the 805-kilometer-long Tithonium Chasma is visible on the right side of the image. Incredible surface detail is present in this high-resolution image that captures Valles Marineris up to 7 kilometers deep.
The blackened part of the Tithonium Chasma is black sand. Scientists think the sand must have come from the volcanic region of Tharsis.
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