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our celestial neighbour,the planet mars. astronomers once considered mars to be a longbarren and geologically dead rock in space. but since the arrival of ourprobes beginning in the 1960s, the planet hascome alive for us. it does not reveal the inactiveand worn down landscape astronomers and planetaryscientists had expected. nevertheless, investigators continuedto apply geologic concepts based on their understandingof the earth and the moon. they could only see volcanism, erosion,surface movement and surface collapse,
all punctuated by episodic impactsfrom space over billions of years. what force created the sharply cut gougesand depressions across the surface of mars, looking as if a giant troweldescended to scoop out material, at radically different andirreconcilable depths. running north to south, we see massiveinterwoven scratches or grooves extending hundreds of miles. and how remarkable that a planetonly half the diameter of earth exhibits canyons on a scale dwarfinganything seen on our own planet. and mountains that wouldtower over mount everest.
today, no planet outside the earth hasreceived more attention than mars, but the mysteries and theoreticalcontradictions have grown spectacularly. for decades now,investigators have wondered why the two hemispheres of mars look asif they were formed in different worlds. a southern hemispheredominated by craters, a northern hemisphere with onlysparsely scattered craters. and note, the contrasting crustaldepths of the two hemispheres. shallow crust in the north, muchthicker crust in the south. why would a planet evolving in isolationdisplay such a profound dichotomy?
it's as if, some unknown force excavatedthe northern crust miles deep. the hemispheric removalof crustal material requires a force external tomars, acting on the planet. but when it comesto external events scientific convention hasonly one thing to work with: random collisions. could a planetoid or hugeasteroid crashing into mars have removed millions ofcubic miles of crust? a shattering impact
is all that theory would allow. but what would martianhistory look like were we to includeelectrical events? events on a scale sufficient to sculpt thesurface of the red planet from pole to pole. of all the enigmaticfeatures in the solar system perhaps none provokesgreater amazement than valles marineris. the largest canyon onany planet or moon, the deep trench complex stretches athird of the way around the planet,
hundreds of times largerthan the grand canyon. it would reach from san franciscoto new york and beyond. prior theory of planet formation had neveranticipated such a chasm on a small planet. what natural force excavatedthis colossal trench? with the arrival ofthe mariner probes, nasa scientists thought the chasmcould have been cut by water erosion, though nothing even close was ever achievedby water on the known watery planet earth. in any erosional hypothesis, three millioncubic miles of material were removed. 3,000,000 cubic miles! andit had to go somewhere.
neither the means of fluid drainage, northe vast outflow required are in evidence. now, we know that valles marinerisreaches to a greater depth than any outflow channeloriginally envisioned. and the tributariesimagined by some turned out to be cleanly cutalcoves and stubby depressions. they are not connected tofeeder streams at all. one portion of the valles marineris system,in particular, underscores our point here. planetary scientists acknowledge that hebescanyon, much larger than our grand canyon, is aninseparable part of valles marineris.
the scientists have now acknowledgedit was certainly not created by water. hebes chasma: "a fairly large canyon in the valles marineriscomplex that has absolutely no inlet or outlet on the surface." nor is it plausible to suggestthat surface spreading created the massive caissonof valles marineris with its repeated morphologyof sharply scalloped walls. the surfacewas not torn, it was carved and the detailed imagesimply a removal of material along the entirelength of the chasm, a process clearly illustrated by theneatly machined so-called tributaries
all the way up to their rounded,cleanly cut terminations. whatever formed the canyon complex could notstop at the margins of the primary channel, but added irregular craters and craterchains, and surface grooves and gouges. so, the question cannot be escaped. is there anything knownto science today that can account for theextraordinary profile of valles marineris? there is an explanationwell-known to science though it's never enteredthe geologist's lexicon.
lightning! in the plasma laboratory,it's power is demonstrated in electric dischargeexperiments. but the form unfamiliar to conventionalscience today is the cosmic thunderbolt. it was the brilliant engineer ralphjuergens, who first suggested decades ago, that cosmic thunderboltscarved valles marineris. "..this entire region resembles nothing so muchas an area zapped by a powerful electric arcadvancing unsteadily across the surface..." with the benefit ofmore recent data, electrical theorist wallace thornhillreturned to this extraordinary possibility.
"valles marineris was created within minutes by a giantelectric arc sweeping across the surface of mars... ...rock and soil were lifted into space and some fellback to create the great, strewn fields of bouldersfirst seen by the viking and pathfinder landers." yes, the electric hypothesiswill unnerve many scientists but it is the only hypothesis thatmeets the test of direct observation. here is a scar left by an electricarc on a piece of wet wood. electric discharge provides a direct andcomplete explanation for the valles marineris. the so-called tributaries of the valley werecut by secondary streamers of the discharge. that is a typical signature of an electricarc when it cuts a surface channel. and here is the scar from electricdischarge to an insulator.
notice in particular the network ofsecondary streamers to the left; a perfect counterpart to thewestern edge of valles marineris. it was long held that thisremarkable region on mars was the result of uplift,fracturing and spreading. and from a distance, itdid look like fracturing. but with a closer view in front of us, it issimply irrational to cling to that interpretation. material has been cleanly removed, exactlyas in the discharging to the insulator. the evidence now availabledemands a new perspective, a larger field of view.
in thornhill's interpretation, the discharge took theform of a plasmoid, not unlike the plasmoid from whichthe spiral galaxy is formed. plasmoid simulation on his website, thornhill notedhow the discharge effect spiraled upward to the eastand downward to the west, an effect that shows up quite clearly onthe elevation map given on his website. in fact, if we extend theview of the elevation map, we see an even larger effect.
it seems that the spiraling trails to theeast and west nearly completed two circles as they swung back tothe trench itself. but one difference between the northernand the southern extension stands out. the northern extension is entirelyconstituted of ravines and depressions, while the southern extension consistsof ridges and mountainous terrain. for this unusual contrast, electricalexperiments offer a startling explanation. it was george christoph lichtenbergwho in the 18th century first showed that electric arcs create ravine networkson more negatively charged surfaces and elevated ridges on morepositively charged surfaces.
could it be that simple? ...that a cosmic thunderboltcarving valles marineris acted on two regions of different charge,negative to the north and positive to the south? if such was the case, the only plausiblecause of the charge differential would be an electrical exchange betweenmars and other charged bodies in the past. and what was the relationship of theseevents to the hemispheric dichotomies, the removal of crustal material to the northand the densely cratered southern hemisphere? in the electrical interpretation, the violentexcavation of the surface to create valles marineris would have created immense deposits ofsediment on surrounding topography.
and indeed, we see that previous cratersin the region were completely buried, with only the largest craters appearing asoutlines penetrating through the deep deposits. it's apparent that the releasedmaterial had a net drift to the west, since the blanket of deposited sedimentstretches all the way to the eastern flank of the towering olympus mons. keep in mind as well thatan electric discharge at energies necessary to createthe chasms of valles marineris would have ejected great volumesof rocky material into space. much of the rocky debris would have fallenback to litter the martian landscape.
and indeed, shattered rock of all sizes acrossthe surface of mars is a long-standing mystery. and the mystery is resolved by electrical eventson a continental and even hemispheric scale. given the energies of the events considerable volumes of material wouldhave surely escaped the planet altogether. and what might this tell usabout the mars-earth connection in our reconstructionof ancient events? or the surprising discovery that rocksfrom mars have fallen on our own planet? when meteorites fell from mars one of the great surprisesof the space age
was the discovery that certain meteoriteshad arrived from the planet mars! initially, most scientistsrejected the idea outright. for rock to escapemartian gravity, they could only imaginean asteroidal impact blasting rock into space at morethan three miles per second! that is five times the muzzlevelocity of a hunting rifle. the energies would eitherpulverize or vaporize the rock. but the question was eventually settled bygases trapped inside a suspect meteorite. the gases bore the atmosphericsignature of mars.
martian meteorite "the trapped gases match these that vikingmeasured in the martian atmosphere." by 2003, at least 30 meteoriteshad been identified as martian. but how could the removal of rock fromthe martian surface have occurred? planetary scientists beganto offer exotic speculations based on mathematical models. no one seems to have wondered ifthe vast debris fields of mars might point theway to discovery. even the smaller rocks viewed here fromspace would weigh tons on the earth.
we have proposed that in a formerepoch of planetary instability electric discharge excavated themartian surface miles deep, throwing massive quantitiesof rock into space. this would mean that most of themartian rocks reaching earth would have come fromwell below the surface and would not even bear theatmospheric signature of the planet. so, it is not unreasonable to suspect thatthe planet mars was not a small contributor ... but the greatest contributor to meteoricbombardment of earth in ancient times! on this question, ancient testimonyholds a surprising answer!
worldwide accounts describeapocalyptic wars of the gods punctuated by lightningand falling stone! rocks from space falling on the earth have noconnection to lightning and thunder in our own time, but the ancientconnection is clear. in many different languages meteorites andexotic rocks were called thunderstones, or thundereggs, said to have fallen in thegreat wars of the gods. it seems that the answer lies withthe worlds first astronomers. they insisted therocks from space
were hurled by the warringthundergod, the planet mars. "the ancient babylonians specifically referredto meteorites falling from the planet mars." "you hurl the towering stone...you hurl the stone in fury." from one land to another ancient skyworshipers celebrated the planet mars as the cosmic prototypefor the warrior on earth. it seems that rocksencircling mars, when mars loomedhuge in the heavens, appeared as a fieryretinue of warriors with ablazing countenance.
the terrifying marutsof hindu literature derived from the same indo-europeanroot as the latin mars. they are the sons andcompanians of the hindu rudra, "the red one" who could hardly beother than mars itself. the marutas hurled in the heavensbringing blasts of fire, of lightning and falling stone. "the glittering army..." "armed with lightning spears..."
babylonian astronomicaltraditions declared precisely the same thingof nergal, the planet mars. "raging demons with awesome numbersrun at his right and at his left" the texts say. in the same way, the classical poetdescribed the dwelling of the greek ares, the roman mars, ringed by a thousand furies. just as a horde of berserkers, or the furious valkyries,
accompanied the devine warriors in archaictraditions of germany and scandinavia. phobos for many years, our claim has beenthat catastrophic electrical exchanges between mars and otherplanets at close range removed immense volumes of rock, dust anddebris from the surface of the red planet. but now planetary scientistsface an additional challenge. the surface of themartian moon phobos reveals a chemistry very closeto that of mars itself. scientists now say that phobos is not thecaptured asteroid that they have once thought.
like the meteorites from mars, even this moon seems tobe composed of material blasted from theplanet's surface. "observations from phobos appear to match the typesof minerals identified on the surface of mars." "this moon might itself have originated from materialthrown into orbit from the martian surface." theorists envision rocky debris orbitingmars after a major impact event, then gradually accretinginto the observed moon. but, it is surely more likely that collisions of rocks in orbitwould progressively wear them down
not create a moon... the idea of gravitational accretionfollowed by meteoric impact is, in fact, contradicted by the mostvisible surface features of phobos. imagine the secondary collision that impact theories required in orderto create the gigantic stickney crater 5.6 miles (9.01km) in diameter, almost half thediameter of phobos along the axis of thesupposed impact. the trivial gravity of the moon could neverhold together a loose collection of rocks
experiencing such an event. parallel channels and craterchains running in every direction. is it a coincidence that everything requiredto fuse material in the implied way... has already been demonstrated byelectric arcs in the laboratory? pinching material intospherical shapes - the same electric force that producesparallel channels and crater chains. electric arc experiments it should not surprise us that a bodyfused electrically into a rough sphere would continue to attractthe surrounding dust
created by the prior catastrophicevents on the martian surface. but no popular theory has explained howphobos acquired a surface layer of dust or fine grain estimatedat a hundred meters deep. even moderate vibrations created by the largersupposed impacts would immediately have propelledcollected dust grains back into space due to the rock'sminuscule gravity. enhanced colors suggestelectrical sorting of dust the available evidence points directly tothe very center piece of ancient fears
... the cosmic thunderbolt ... and the ancient story of thegreat warrior in the heavens of his raging companions and of hurled stonedoes not end here. scarface no surface feature on anybody in the solar system is more recognizable than thegreat scar of valles marineris. and it appears, that ancient nations preservedthe story about this memorable scar. the scarred face ofthe aztec god xipe,
the celestial model ofthe devoted warrior, is not easily forgotten. and many cultures recall alegendary warrior or giant recognized by hisdistinctive scar. but could this scared god reallyhave been the planet mars? scarface was the name of alegendary blackfoot indian warrior also called star boy. his counterpart among the pawnee wasthe great warrior named morning star not venus they say,but the planet mars.
the greek ares personifiedthe lightning weapon and the greeks identifiedthe god as the planet mars. when wounded in battle he rushed to zeuswith the shout of a thousand warriors to display the deep gash. in the different cultures, the warring god appearsalternately as a hero vanquishing chaos monsters and a rogue warrioror dark power. we see the two aspects of the warriorarchetype in the hindu indra, famed for thecosmic thunderbolt. and the giant ravana,
who is said to have been permanentlyscarred by the thunderbolt. greek poets knew the monster typhonas the owner of a lightning weapon but also as thelightning scarred god. and the same is true ofthe giant enceladus, alternately said to have beenscarred by the thunderbolt of zeus or the spear of athena,which meant the same thing. we have good reasonto ask, therefore, if the scar-faced theme derivedfrom remembered events when planetary gods wagedbattles in the sky
and the planet mars acquiredit's unforgettable wound. olympus mons in it's sheer size the toweringmartian mountain olympus mons dwarfs anything seen on earth. the great mound on the tharsisrise stunned planetary scientists as it rose through a dust cloud togreet the mariner 9 mission in 1972. almost as flat as a pancake, olympus mons is three timesthe height of mount everest and as wide as theentire state of arizona!
from its discovery onward, planetary scientists interpreted olympusmons as a classic shield volcano, comparing it to the great shieldvolcanos of the hawaiian islands. but, olympus mons is as large as theentire hawaiian island chain of mountains, from the sea floorto their summits. numerous features distinguish itfrom any shield volcano on earth. it's steep scarp rises upto 4 miles (6.43km) high. no shield volcano offers acounterpart to this towering cliff. (belknap shield volcano) thedefining feature of a shield volcano
is the gentle extrusion offluid or low viscosity lava. shield volcanoes donot present a scarp and a scarp 4 miles high issimply out of the question. "the scarp is of unknown origin." "this steep cliff around olympus mons is peculiar andnot characteristic of terrestrial shield volcanoes." in fact, one engima after anotherleaps out at the observer. a blanket of incredibly fine,filamentary ridges and ravines, a surrounding aureole, exhibiting sharply cutridges and channels
and stupendous carved blocks. "the origin of the deposits has challenged planetaryscientists for an explanation for dacades." subsequent to its formation,much of the aureole to the east was apparently buried by equallyenigmatic activity in the region. indeed, the tharsis rise as awhole is a long-standing enigma, 2,500 miles (4,023 km) across andmore than 6 miles (9.65km) high. a vast bulge of this sort has no place in thestandard evolution of an isolated planet. "the origin of the tharsisrise is not well understood." planetary scientistsstill debate the enigma,
but if mars formerly engaged othercharged bodies at close range, the great bulge is the verydeformation we would expect. we have claimed that the surface ofmars was sculpted by electric discharge in an epoch of solar systeminstability and planetary violence. yes, this is an outrageous idea, but olympus mons itself has all thecharacteristics of a lightning blister. such raised bell-shaped blisters can befound on the caps of lightning arrestors after a cloud to ground strike. and we find them in othernatural settings as well,
they're elevated fulgarites, whatsome have called fulgamites. the discharge that createsraised fulgurites is often followed by lesser strokesalong the same ionized path creating overlapping pits onthe top of the formation, just like the circular craterson the summit of olympus mons. on the martian mountain the smallercraters center on the walls of the larger and are cut to a greater depths,as if with a cookie cutter. the material that forms the raised fulgariteis scavenged from the surrounding surface. the result is an encirclingdepression or moat.
this characteristic is so clear and obviousas to raise an critical question... is there a moat around thebase of olympus mons? planetary scientistssay there is a moat, but that its remains are onlyslightly visible to the west and the rest of the moat had been buried by laterdeposits of material who's origin is still debated. they explain the moat as beingan effect of olympus mons sinking into the local terrainover long spans of time. but is anotherexplanation possible? the features of olympusmons are, in fact,
a perfect fit to an electricalinterpretation down to numerous details. several years ago, wal thornhillconducted a laboratory experiment to demonstrate the effectof an electric arc on a positively charged,or anode clay surface. at moderate power, the electric arc raised acircular mound from the surrounding material to create both, a moat and an encirclingfluid aureole extracted from the clay, while also carving a crateron the top of the mound and cutting pits andgouges in its flanks. as the power was increased,
the arc briefly stopped moving andburnt a smaller circular crater within the pre-existing crater,leaving a glowing spot. scaled up to aninterplanetary discharge, that glowing spot representsa duration and temperature sufficient to melt the floors ofthe olympus mons caldera craters and to produce theirremarkably flat surfaces. the olympus mons aureole also has it'sanalog on the aureoles of lightning blisters showing concentric scarring. this distinctive pattern directsour attention to a stunning,
highly enigmatic counterparton the olympus mons aureole. in conventional terms, thesimilarity can only be accidental. and, here is an equallyprofound mystery. much of the original aureole wasoverwritten by subsequent scarring. it is only necessary tolook closely at the images to see that the overwriting wasachieved by a force acting from above with no regard for previouslyformed ridges and channels. that's the trademark of theelectric arcs acting on a surface. in an electrical interpretationof olympus mons,
successive strokes froma cosmic lightning bolt lifted the peak and carvedthe craters on the summit. the olympus mons caldera illustrates theeffect of a sputtering, rotating arc, superimposing flat bottom craterson the summit of an anode blister. it's rapid movement willfrequently cut steep terraces into the walls of thesuperimposed craters. we see the effect most clearly on the calderawalls of neighbouring ascraeus mons. on a planetary scale a cylindricalrotating electric discharge can be seen as an arrayof smaller cylinders.
a good example is thecylindrical earth auroras formed by curtains of smallerdischarge cylinders. when electric arcssputter across a surface they will often stickmomentarily to one spot, creating a distinctivescalloping effect, an effect evident on thecaldera walls of olympus mons and even more evident on the calderawalls of hecates tholus to the north. cleanly cut scalloping is not apparenton the walls of shield volcano calderas. the highly filamentary blanketon the summit of olympus mons
is to be expected if an'interplanetary' arc created a focal pointof negative charge on a positivelycharged surface - like the fine filamentary tail of a comet movingthrough the weak electric field of the sun. here we would look for a similareffect on the massive cloud of dust and sediment thatfell upon the region. radial filaments, perhaps evenelectrically fused material would have poured over theflanks and scarp of olympus mons to fill the surrounding moat as a permanentrecord of the movement of charge.
in truth, no shield volcano on earthreplicates the morphology of olympus mons. yet, the pattern is repeated more thanonce on the tharsis rise of mars, not just superimposedcraters and terracing, but as seen in the laboratoryexperiments with electric arcs, a spectacular array of surroundingpits and deep surface gouges. and most extraordinary is the fact, thatthe expansive carved surface seen here reveals not a single opening to the great voidsthat are supposed to lie beneath the surface - the voids into which scientists haveassumed these pits and gouges collapsed. collapsed pits aretypically quite obvious
revealing either theirconnection to local fissures or openings tocavernous space below. examined critically. the supposedshield volcanoes of mars do not reveal theexpected features. this may not exclude the possibility of activevolcanoes in the planet's violent past, but with higherresolution images the spectrum of engimas hasbroadened spectacularly. electrical events are scaleable, and it should not surprise us to find thatevents similar to those producing olympus mons
occurred on a smallerscale, as well. in fact, the surface of mars is repletewith small mounds surmounted by craters. abundant cratered mounds remainmysterious to planetary scientists. many of these mounds are remarkablysimilar to raised fulgarites. in many instances, we see the crateredmounds surrounded by moats or barrow pits. an electrical explanation may be the onlyexplanation that can withstand scrutiny. most of the formations areunder half a mile in diameter. where we see one cratered moundwe typically see others, sometimes by the hundreds,
even by the thousands. we see strings ofcratered mounds and we see parallel strings; anunresolved geological enigma, but an enigma that reminds us of the parallelstreamers common to electric discharge. many of the higher resolutionimages are quite recent and yes, it is too early to imposeany sweeping interpretation. but, the greatest mistake would be toignore the converging lines of evidence, evidence that points to planet-wideelectrical sculpting of the martian surface not that long ago.
electrical sculpting of mars is it possible to identify the events thatshaped the surface of the planet mars? a planet of vast butunrecognized landscapes, vista after vista eluding everyattempt to explain them. scientists labour to solve themysteries through text book theory, but if, as we have claimed,the cause was electrical, they will never getthe expected answers. many details of a new interpretation come fromlaboratory experiments with electric discharge, but how far can this newinterpretation take us
toward an understandingof martian history? one advantage of theelectrical perspective is that its every implication can be testedagainst massive layers of evidence now available, including wide-rangingexperiments with electric arcs. lab dischargebetween two spheres anode(positive charge) cathode(negative charge) if as we’ve proposed, mars wasimmersed in hemispheric discharge, the planet can be viewedas a laboratory in space
for testing theelectrical hypothesis. lichtenberg figures as seen in lightning displays, electric arcs exhibit dendriticbranching called lichtenberg patterns. these look very much like the dendriticerosion created by flowing water. and electric arcs exploding across asurface can produce sinuous channels that also resemblefluid erosion. lab discharge to wet wood but there are differences.
in electric dischargeto a solid surface the electron pathways frequentlycreate dark spotting, or chains of craters, running alongthe channel floors or close by. the presence of crater concentrationsin relation to surface channels offers a fundamental test ofthe electrical hypothesis. in electric experiments, wealso see coronal streamers radiating perpendicularly fromthe primary discharge channel. both, the cratering andthe coronal discharge are keys to a new understandingof the martian surface.
martian channels: scalloping; crater chains;alcoves; pseudo-tributaries did electric arcs cut thegreat channels on mars? nirgal vallis is some three miles andmore in width and 250 miles in length. yes, it did looklike a dry river bed when first seen by themariner 9 mission in 1972, but the original confidence of planetaryscientists soon gave way to doubts, then to contradiction. "it is not clear how this channel formed..."
a river can take many twistsand turns along its path but its tributaries will not look likethe blunt alcoves of nirgall vallis. martian channels exhibit the predictablefeatures of an electric scar. rotating cylindrical arcs sputtering along theprimary discharge path produced scallopingof the channel walls with sharp angular projections thatare inconsistent with fluid flow. the same process leftoverlapping craters and alcoves that make no sense in terms offamiliar erosional patterns.
we see virtually identical craters, alcoves andsharply cut stubby gouges along nanedi valles. nanedi valles:"the valley's origins remain unclear." numerous other martian rillesunderscore the same enigma and the unanswered questionsgrow year by year. nirgal valles "tributaries" electric arc to wood "collapsed lava tubes" planetary scientists identify depressionssuch as these, as collapsed lava tubes. lava tubes form as flowing molten rockcools and hardens at it's surface,
insulating the lava below so it continuesto flow in a tube that eventually empties. when an empty lavatubes collapses, the result will be anentrance to a lava tube cave. a good example is "barker'scave" in australia. so, a cave entrance is the firstthing to look for on mars. the second thing to look for is a rubblefield created by a collapsing roof. and a third thing to lookfor is abundant outflow since the emptying of a lavatube requires an outflow region. lava outflow
but in reviewing innumerable instancesof claimed lava tubes collapse on mars we find no cave entrance, no rubble field froma collapsed roof and no outflow. the depressions stand alone with literally nothing to supportthe theoretical interpretation. like any fluid, lava flowfollows topographical relief, always running downhill. the channels seen here change directionsrandomly in apparent disregard for topography.
they make 90 degree turnsunrelated to surface gradients. and they also cross over each otherwith no disturbance of either. these depressions can notbe collapsed lava tubes, but what are they? what you see here isnot the planet mars. it is a surface affected by veryhigh voltage, but microamp current, creating a complex ofgouges and craters. again, in electrical terms craters and channels areinseparable companions.
"fractured" terrain in responding to the mysteriouschannels and depressions on mars, many planetary scientists thoughtthey saw spreading and fracturing and, indeed, evidence of fracturingis present on mars as seen here. here there are no associatedcraters or crater chains and the nature of the stresses actingon the surface is an open question. planetary scientists think in the same termswhen considering the region of avernus colles. they identify the channelsas cracks or fractures. but why the concentrations ofcraters and crater chains?
a rotating electric arc traveling across thesurface can alternately sputter forward to produce linearchains of craters, or advance on a continuous pathto cut channels as if by a router with uniform depthand parallel sides. as seen in laboratory experimentswith electric discharge channels, here, the channel width will bethe width of the rotating arc at it's contactwith the surface. vemasat laboratories, earth avernus colles, mars
crater anomalies the question of crater formation on rockyplanets and moons must be re-opened. the impact explanation would mean itis only necessary to count craters in order to calculatethe age of a surface. but electric dischargeon an hemispheric scale could quickly create a surfacethat looks a billion years old to those counting craters. plasma scientist dr. j. c.ransom of vemasat-laboratories conducted a series ofexperiments with electric arcs.
electric discharge producedsurface cratering patterns closely resembling thoseobserved on planets and moons. even a surface darkening and central bumpsor mounds of so many craters on mars were present in thelaboratory experiment. electric arcs can also produce crateringpatterns that could never be produced by impact. complex terracing of craterfloors and crater walls are a common effect of arotating electric arc or discharge streamer. across the surface of mars we observecountless examples of exotic terracing.
impact theory was never ableto resolve the mysteries. so-called bull's eye craters with a central craterinside a larger crater are surprisingly common on mars. could this be a rare accident? that explanation is reduced to absurditywhen two such craters are seen side by side. in fact several bull's eye cratersappear within the same region of mars. but an ionized discharge path of lightning doesallow for subsequent discharge along the same path. the bull's eye crater
is a logical extensionof the electric model. and when it comes toimprobable events side by side these two craters with central peakseach terminating in another crater will certainly never beexplained by impact. impacts do not createhexagonal craters. but look closely atthis region of mars and you'll see several hexagons, an observed form takenby rotating plasma as seen in the planet saturn’selectrified polar hexagon.
in an extended discharge, systematic cratering, pitting,or etching can be the norm. that's why inindustrial applications electric discharge machining can achieveexceptionally dependable results. the microscopic pittingof electric discharge can give a consistent depth and a remarkably smooth surface despite the fact that the surface isentirely constituted of craters or pits. the same effect can be observedon seemingly smooth surfaces
in the northernhemisphere of mars, surfaces that have beenexcavated miles deep. but look more closely with thehelp of recent high-res images and smooth surfaces are revealed tobe nothing more than fields of small densely packed craters. the baffling craterfield seen here, like so many others on mars, is a perfect counterpart to anelectrically machined surface. martian region in high resolution
electric discharge machining(electron microscope) and don't underestimate the scale ofthis dilemma for planetary scientists. we witness a pattern at both, the lowpoints and the high points on mars. from the bottom of zunil crater inthe depressed northern hemisphere to the highest point on mars, thesummit of towering olympus mons. here no grasping for conventionalexplanations such as a dune field could possibly account for whatleaps out at the observer. the baffling craterfields seen here, lightning's dendritic forms
lightning in slow motion more than two centuries afterbenjamin franklin flew his kite, the origin and behaviour of lightning continuesto amaze and to puzzle the lightning specialists. lightning will occasionally imprint it'sdistinctive form on terrestrial surfaces, lightning strike on a sidewalk and even on the skin of humans. in the laboratory, the counterpart tolightning is the lichtenberg figure, perhaps the most common and fascinatingform taken by electric discharge. dendritic meanstree-like branching
and dendritic forms can beeasily confused with fracturing. the dendritic patterns seen here are notfracturing, as the term is normally understood, but electrical break down channelson a polycarbonate plate. georg christoph lichtenberg appears to have beenthe first to demonstrate the different forms taken by dust on positive and negative surfaces. a line of investigation later followed byothers but with no impact on planetary science. late in the 19th century, industrialist lord williamg. armstrong explored the power of electricity to produce exquisite forms onsurfaces of different charge.
the feathery qualities of lichtenbergfigures on a negative surface could be compared to the more dendriticpatterns on a positive surface. "captured" lightning at stoneridge engineering, the technology oflichtenberg figures has produced an art form, lightning captured inclear acrylic blocks. the blocks are bombarded by electronsfrom a 5 megavolt particle accelerator arriving at nearlythe speed of light but, coming to a stop within afraction of an inch into the block, a cloud of trappednegative charge.
here, the event producing the dendritic channelsis triggered by a simple stroke of a metallic pin. that is all it takes for a breakdownof the insulating material and a nearly instantaneous releaseof charge and dendritic channels. a millisecond lightning stormfrozen into the acrylic block. the branching of the electron channelsis a spectacular fractal pattern, apparently occurring all the way downto scale, to the molecular level. from what we haveearlier presented it is evident that planet-wideelectric discharge created vast regions of raisedlichtenberg figures on mars.
mars: dendritic ridges laboratory experiments show thatin regions of positive charge dust will typically gather intoraised lichtenberg formations standing out from thesurrounding terrain. in fact, sharply sculpteddendritic ridge systems are abundant on mars showing up wherever the highestenergy events are implied. the great trench of valles marinerisis an extraordinary example. here, we find the raised lichtenberg figuresexactly where we would expect them,
running down from sharpcliffs and high points in predictable patterns, stretching forhundreds of miles along the trench. yet, strangely, the mystery receivesalmost no mention by planetary scientists. we also observe dendritic ridges onthe great mound of olympus mons, both, on the miles high scarp and on the caldera walls. in fact, the mystery is global. we see the same pattern onthe walls of major rilles. we see it along the so-called fracturedterrain of noctis labyrinthis.
and everywhere on mars wesee the dendritic patterns reaching down fromtowering cliffs and mesas. we even see such ridge systems descendingfrom the rims of large craters, opening the door to a much broaderperspective on crater formation. scalloping in the hypothesispresented here, many craters on mars were producedby the same electrical events that created chains of craters and agreat variety of channels or rilles. as a discharge columnsputters across a surface,
it's diameter will varywith discharge energy and a narrowing or pinching bythe induced magnetic field. the pinching effect will be most strongly focusedat the point of contact with the surface. the sputtering arc will leave a uniquesignature in the form of scalloped walls. popular explanations say that surface collapsemust have produced these crater channels. but scalloping effects on mars are byno means limited to chains of craters. planetary scientists cannot agree on the forcesthat created this bizarre channel network north of valles marineris. other channels, that are said tohave been caused by fluid flow,
either water or lava, exhibitthe same scalloped walls. similar neatly cut scallops appearon the cliffs of towering mesas. and the so-called calderas ofthe great mountains of mars reveal the same pattern. even the celebratedvictoria crater, supposedly formed by impact, exhibits alcoves and scallops similar tothose of the great rilles and valleys. and the scallopedwalls of zunil crater are virtually indistinguishable from thescalloped walls of valles marineris.
scallops and ridges additional patterns enterthe picture, as well, including a consistent globalconnection between scallops and dendritic ridge networks. the explanation appears to lie in the fractalnature of cylindrical current sheets. current flow can metamorphoseinto secondary cylinders and fractal-like sub-structures to be pinched by theinduced magnetic fields into a narrow highlyfocused discharge.
we see this interplayof different scales in the cylindrical currentsof earth's auroras as charged particles enter and exit thepolar regions in an electric circuit. invisible current sheets,magnetically pinched at earth's poles divide into visible curtainsof secondary cylinders, all dancing in the turbulenceof earth's upper atmosphere. the same electromagnetic structurearising from charged particle movement will at times be seen in theelectrified tails of comets. in the larger scale eventscarving the surface of mars,
we envision multiple columnsof charged particles being pinched into a narrowdischarge at the surface. this established principle will be crucialto comprehending the giant valles marineris with all of it'saccompanying chasms. smaller scallops withinlarger scallops, they are the imprint ofpinched cylindrical currents, constituted ofsmaller cylinders. the pattern occurs repeatedlyand is surely no accident. consider the consistent relationshipbetween the scalloping effects
and lichtenberg ridge systems. the most prominent ofthese dendritic forms are those that separatethe larger scallops. the smaller dendritic ridges define theboundaries between smaller scallops. at both scales, the ridge networkscan be seen as the final events in catastrophicdischarge activity as charge redistributiongathered and fused lose material into the familiarlichtenberg patterns. in this revisioningof martian history
contradictions find aunified resolution in an electrical cause. enigmatic craters, crater chains, dendritic ridges, scalloped craters, calderas and rilles - all are connected to the observedbehaviour of electric discharge. negative lichtenberg figures
here is an image of electric arcingto a negatively charged surface capturing the featherydischarge glow, or corona. the corona is constituted of extremely fine hair-likefilaments radiating from the primary streamers. on a surface affectedby electric arcing, experiments show thatregions of localised charge can attract dust or sediment into arecord of the electrical activity, or discharge pathways,down to many fine details. martian surface here is a ridge complex on mars
covering thousandsof square miles. the ridge forms have puzzled planetaryscientists for more than a decade now. since standard geology doesnot include such forms, this unique behaviour is a logicaltest of the electrical hypothesis. examined closely, we see perpendicularhair-like filaments illuminated by the sun confirming that electric dischargeattracted dust into raised relief. this exotic formation was producedelectrically by d. z. parker on a crt screen showing a gathering of dust in aregion of previous discharge activity. the ridge with itsfine filaments
offers a striking counterpart tothe baffling martian formations. surface etching we have suggested that thenorthern hemisphere of mars was eroded electrically to adepth of 5 miles or more, as seen on the globalelevation map. it is only reasonable thereforeto look for transitional zones on the margins of the more depressedor heavily eroded regions. if the erosion was electrical, what should we expect to find,
particularly in the regions that separatethe low lying northern latitudes from the elevated and denselycratered southern hemisphere? we should expect tofind what we do find - vast regions from theequator northward showing the predictablephases of electrical erosion. first electric arcsraking across the surface created a network of channels cutting the regionin discrete blocks. then the arcs acting on thesharp edges of the blocks
continued to extendthe valley floors leaving separateangular islands. the islands standing out abovethe newly excavated terrain were then progressively erodedinto various pyramidal forms then mounds as electric arcscontinued to erode the sharp edges. and finally the remainingmounds were etched away. just as industrial applicationsof electric discharge machining can erode high points toproduce a flat surface. all that is left of theearlier martian plains
are the few scattered remnantsof sculpted mesas and bluffs disappearing altogether in a flatdepression farther to the north. this transitional process can beobserved across great distances on mars with a consistent pattern, highly cratered elevatedplains to the south giving way to isolated blocks, then mounds, then a smooth lower terrain that characterizesso much of the northern hemisphere. blueberries
in early 2004, the mars rover"opportunity" returned images that alone could alter our ideas aboutthe recent history of the solar system. the rover had landed in a crater and scattered around the walls of the craterwere a multitude of bb-sized spherules. their blue-grey colour set themapart form the reddish hue of the iron-rich martian soil. thus, the informal namegiven them: blueberries. as "opportunity" rolled across the martian landscapeit found a profusion of the little spheres that apparently occupied themartian surface by the trillions.
but how were they formed? not long after the discoveryof the martian blueberries, dr. ransom set up an experiment totest the effects of electric arcs on different materials. he obtained a quantity of hematiteroughly comparable to the martian soil and blasted it withan electric arc. the results arequite spectacular. embedded in the soil were perfectcounterparts of the martian blueberries. from what is now knownabout the martian surface,
it's clear that if the planet wasengulfed in electric discharge, the spherules are apredictable effect. mars vemasat laboratories ransom's experiments did notend the investigation either. cameras of the rover "opportunity" captureda flat floored channel with parallel sides from both walls of the channelwe observed jagged razorbacks. one more feature with no placein the geologists' lexicon. but dr. troy shinbrot, and hiscolleagues at rutger's university,
recently produced this very form,razorbacks, in electro-static experiments. and the researchers did indeed see a direct connectionto the razorbacks recorded by "opportunity". shortly thereafter, d. z.parker also produced razorbacks on the charged surfaceof a crt screen. both, the razorbacks and theblueberries, point to electrical events. and electrical eventsare scaleable. formations created on a small scale canalso appear on a much larger scale. in fact, our orbiting cameras have found numerouscraters with domes or spheres resting within them looking very much like the spheres andcraters of ransom's blueberry experiments.
the pictures seen hereof domed craters on mars are from the "marsglobal surveyor". but in contrast to therover's blueberry images the domed craters range in sizefrom a hundred meters or less to a mile or more in diameter. and the pattern occurseven on a larger scale. in the polar region of mars the domedcraters are up to many miles wide. it is surely reasonable to ask if the tinyblueberries, and the far more massive domed craters, were produced by thesame electrical force
acting on widely different scales in anearlier phase of global electric discharge? one thing is certain, if it was electricitythat sculpted the martian surface, the events were vastly more dramatic thanplanetary scientists have ever imagined. symbols of an alien sky episode twothe lightning-scarred planet mars