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posted by martyb on Thursday November 24 2016, @05:29AM   Printer-friendly
from the as-opposed-to-the-Great-Giant-Valley dept.

A newly discovered giant valley on the planet Mercury makes the Grand Canyon look tiny by comparison. Located by scientists at the University of Maryland, the Smithsonian Institution, the German Institute of Planetary Research and Moscow State University, the expansive valley holds an important key to the geologic history of the innermost planet in our solar system.

Discovered using stereo images from NASA's MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft, the "great valley" lies in the planet's southern hemisphere and overlaps the Rembrandt Basin—a large crater formed by a relatively recent impact from an asteroid or other such body. But the "great valley" formed in a much different way, according to a research paper published online November 16, 2016 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters .

Unlike Earth, which has a crust and upper mantle (collectively known as the lithosphere) divided into multiple tectonic plates, Mercury has a single, solid lithosphere that covers the entire planet. As the planet cooled and shrank early in its history, roughly 3-4 billion years ago, Mercury's lithosphere buckled and folded to form the valley, much like the skin of a grape folds as it dries to become a raisin.

[...] The valley is about 250 miles wide and 600 miles long, with steep sides that dip as much as 2 miles below the surrounding terrain. To put this in perspective: if Mercury's "great valley" existed on Earth, it would be almost twice as deep as the Grand Canyon and reach from Washington, D.C. to New York City, and as far west as Detroit.

Thomas R. Watters et alFault-bound valley associated with the Rembrandt basin on Mercury.  Geophysical Research Letters, 2016; DOI: 10.1002/2016GL070205


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 24 2016, @08:42AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 24 2016, @08:42AM (#432330)

    It's a pussy cleft.