Cows on Mars!

For me, it is obvious that the canyons were formed by water. There is no other hypothesis that is more likely than water.

We all agreee that there was once more air on Mars. I'm sure there was more wind erosion in the past than there is now. One rock sticking up could endure a good long time in wind. How do we know it didn't start out much, much bigger?

In any event, it's knid of hard to imagine a conspiricy that is out standing rocks on their end just to spite us.

Moxy, as Greg says, all the large features were created long ago in past when the environment had a thick atmosphere and running (indeed gushing) water. The atmosphere was then lost and things slowed down considerably. Since then the layer of evaporite has been slowly eroded leaving the berries scattered randomly on the ground at Meridiani but the process is so gentle that features such as the berries on a stalk like on Pilbara - and indeed many of the objects seen in the outcrop in Eagle crater can survive into the delicate structures we see today. You see some strange shapes on Earth caused by erosion but usually on a much larger scale so that the features are stronger and can stand the higher gravity and generally much more energetic environment.

As for dust devils - no one is accusing them of causing every anomalous surface feature - indeed you can generally only see where they've been from orbit and I think are a good explanation for what we see in another thread

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Don't forget that the atmospheric pressure is only 6 millibars, 0.006 of Earth's atmospheric pressure so only fine dust generally gets lifted and you see the change in colouration on the ground. I don't know if they do even occur over Meridiani (the picture in the thread above was from the Spirit site).

"Don't forget that the atmospheric pressure is only 6 millibars, 0.006 of Earth's atmospheric pressure so only fine dust generally gets lifted"

I've seen this quoted quite a lot.
As far as the dust is concerned it's the density, not the atmospheric pressure that counts. The atmospheric density is about 0.01 of the Earth's. The gravity is only 38%, so the upward force needed to lift a dust particle is 38% of that needed on Earth.

The average wind velocity is also higher on Mars, and the power transferred to the dust particles is proportional to the cube of the velocity.

The amount of verticle flow due to huge relative pressure fluctuations is al;so greater on Mars.

The particle velocity will reach approximately 80% of the wind velocity, so that the momentum of the sand particles, once airborne is very similar to that on Earth.

Notwithstanding that minor footnote, I concur that the most likely agent for the formation of the canyon features is water erosion.

in regards to reply #8 - I agree. If only the true believers of life on mars could find a forum specifically for them.

We could name it something along the lines of Biologee on Mars or Mars Biologee forum.

Then we could discuss our serious groundbreaking ideas in peace - without paid NASA and Geologist flunkies disturbing our peace with their rock hammers of evil.

IT'S TRUE! THERE'S A WHOLE CONSPERICY! I've created a page just for it! Half way down the page is the photographic proof of Cows On Mars! This is the picture NASA doesn't want you to see!

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Great pics, Jonathon! I was honestly hoping the first pics we got back would be a view of the back end of tow truck, but a close up of a curious cow's snout isn't a disappointment... even if NASA is suppressing the image.

Guys... I started this thread just to have fun, no replies were expected but fun ones... (I didn't asscociated cows poop with martian methane, nice diea ).
But now it looks like womebody here is speaking seriously!!!
I can't believe it!!!
Luca

FRONT PAGE BABY!
http://www.CoasttoCoastAM.com/

and for the full story:

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