A chain of electrically etched craters in the Alba Terra region of Mars.
Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Feb 24, 2016
The surface of Mars is electrically eroded.
Editor’s note: The Picture of the Day will be away until Friday, February 26. Meanwhile please enjoy this article from the archives.
What caused the majority of craters on Mars? From a consensus perspective, the answer lies in one of two ways: meteor and asteroid impacts or the remains of volcanic vents and caldera. From the perspective of an Electric Universe paradigm however, the answer is quite different and perhaps difficult to accept: electric arc discharges of enormous power.
Lighting bolts are hollow, rotating helices of plasma capable of disintegrating the hardest stone. In this image the rotational component is readily apparent. Since the majority of planetary scientists would say that this structure was created by a meteor crashing into Mars, the question is: what kind of explosion can carve the bottom of a crater into multiple spiraling bands?
North of the Tharsis “volcanoes”
When plasma discharges linger for a moment before jumping to another location, the intense heat generated by the multimillion degree current flow will excavate a crater, while melting the material. An example of the “pulling” effect that electromagnetic fields have on the surrounding terrain can be seen here. Electrons are yanked towards the center of the discharge channel, ripping apart the rocks and dragging the neutral material along with them. The fused microscopic dust is then sucked up into the center of the vortex and ejected into space. This explains why the bottoms of many craters are smooth and flat, with little or no blast debris.
Around the largest “volcano” in the Solar System is a network of deep fractures that radiate from the central mound for hundreds of kilometers. Among those sharp-edged, steep-walled chasms are several craters with nearly identical morphology, such as the one in this image. When electricity passes through a solid body, like as a planet, it either erodes the surface or deposits material at the strike points. The craters are usually circular because electric forces cause the arcs to impact at right angles. Since filaments of electricity rotate, rock and dust is drilled out, leaving steep sides and “rolled” rims of melted debris.
Concentric circles, central peaks, and uplifted mounds dominate the terrain in this image. Conventional viewpoints are unable to provide a satisfactory explanation for why craters found on Mars (and other Solar System bodies) often display ridges around a common center. As conventional theories state, craters formed through kinetic impact possess rounded floors because explosions are spherical. Blast debris is hurled outward ballistically, creating a radial pattern of material sorted from coarse and heavy close by, to fine and light farther away. Impact energy dissipates through mechanical shock, forcing the strata to flow and then instantly freeze in place. The process that produces these mound and crater combinations is a mystery to Mars researchers.
Southwest of the Tharsis region
Crescent-shaped discharges appear to have carved the formations seen here. The highest points are embossed with the unmistakable sign of electricity acting on a conductive medium, Lichtenberg figures. The moats that are dug deeply into the surface also suggest electrical activity, as do the perpendicular ridges and granular landscape covering hundreds of square kilometers. The nubbins of solid stone that align themselves in crisscross patterns are reminiscent of corona discharges that can sometimes be seen at right angles to a primary arc.
The features on Mars tell a story that includes incredibly violent events in the recent past when it experienced powerful plasma discharges on a massive scale. Vast areas show signs of excavation down to 10 kilometers below the mean elevation of the planet. Some of the shattered rock was accelerated electrically into space; some fell back to the surface, where it was electrically sorted and deposited in hardened layers.
Burned and blasted craters, piles of scorched dust covering almost an entire hemisphere, and great trenches that wend across its scarred face lead to the conclusion that lightning thousands or millions of times more energetic than we know today devastated Mars. The existence of these formations constitutes a confirmation of the Electric Universe hypothesis.
Stephen Smith
