Is Stickney Crater an Impact Feature?

[MGmirkin]

(Is Stickney Crater an Impact Feature?; Apr 14, 2008)

Stickney crater is almost half the diameter of Phobos itself. Why did the impact not shatter this small moon?

[Read more] ...

[longcircuit]

I had a thought (someone note the day and time) about this while reading mgmirkin's post. So I remembered this:

http://www.thunderbolts.info/forum/phpB ... 1d8f#p3410

I've been looking for an EU explanation of fractures antipodal to large craters. This phenomenon is seen on a variety of planetary bodies in our Solar system (Mimas, Mars, our moon) and seems to me to be concrete evidence of mechanical impact. I can't remember seeing any EU hypothesis that deals with this, or any theory that doesn't revolve around mechanical impact.

Cheers!

I think if the antipodal fracture is theorized to be caused by travelling surface waves resulting from the impact impulse it would'nt make much difference if the impact energy was exchanged mechanically or electrically. A meteorite impact would be less likely in EU theory since more energy would be dissipated before mechanical impact if there is a large potential difference between the two objects (a la Tungaska).

My thought: if the force exerted by electrical "impacts" can cause "fractures antipodal to large craters," couldn't an electric discharge that could create Stickney Crater not also entirely shatter Phobos? I ask because EU theorists state that a mechanical strike powerful enough to dig the crater would have blasted the body apart.

Cheers,
longcircuit

[redeye]

My thought: if the force exerted by electrical "impacts" can cause "fractures antipodal to large craters," couldn't an electric discharge that could create Stickney Crater not also entirely shatter Phobos? I ask because EU theorists state that a mechanical strike powerful enough to dig the crater would have blasted the body apart.

I always thought of the electrical discharge as more of a pull than a push (if you see what I mean), I spent a bit of time contemplating this but it was pretty frustrating as my knowledge of the process is limited.

There has been a lot of impact models created with specific reference to antipodal focusing but these seem to have been computer simulations (which are completely dependant on the quality of information used) or basic physical models to show the concept (like blasting a glass sphere with a vacuum cannon). One thing I took from these models is that, when a sphere is smacked on one side the energy does seem to flow around and through the body, causing massive damage at the antipodal point, but without shattering the body completely. It seems a property of a sphere is the ability to absorb blows such as those that cause Stickney(phobos) or Herschel(Mimas).
I don't think there have been similar models performed with irregular bodies though.

One thing I tried when investigating the antipodal focusing model is to track back from various large volcanic events on the Earth and look for antipodal craters, I found a lot. I also postulated a 350 mile wide crater in Antarctica as the precurser for the Siberian Traps (I drew it on my globe). A 300 mile wide basin has been found in almost exactly the spot I proposed:

Antarctic "impact" basin

The large Martian Volcanoes also match up to antipodal impact basins. All in all, it seems to me to be a pretty widespread phenomenon seen throughout our Solar system. I tried contacting various geological organisations to see if any work had been done in this area and to get a feel for the mainstream reaction and was roundly patronised and dismissed for suggesting that such a process could take place on our planet despite it being widely accepted on Mercury, Mimas, Luna etc.

Sorry if this doesn't shed any light on your question and isn't particularly relevant to EU. This thread has some very interesting info with regards to the electrical properties of rock courtesy of Mr Mirkin:

Curious cloud formations linked to quakes


Cheers!

[redeye]

There is a mission planned for Phobos

Phobos-Grunt

Cheers!

[nick c]

As the name indicates, the spacecraft is intended to land on this tiny moon, take soil samples, and return the samples to Earth.

Is this an opportunity for some predictions of the Electric Universe model? The fine dust on Phobos must exhibit some qualities that are consistent and/or indicative of EDM.

Nick

[redeye]

Russia, after having a lot of bad luck with Mars, planned a double Phobos mission in 1988. One of the two spacecraft did eventually reach Phobos, but then fell silent (the computers went wrong, likely because of insufficient shielding of the electronics).

Lets hope they learn their lessons. I believe Phobos and Deimos are remnants of the original crust of Mars' Northern hemisphere, either shucked off due to the cataclysmic disruption caused by the formation of Valles Marineris, or perhaps through a massive plasma discharge causing the double layer of Mars crust to "explode".

As far as I am aware Stickney Crater is on the face of Phobos which is locked to Mars. I don't believe it's an impact crater.

Cheers!