Chapter 1765: The Cause of the Grand Canyon

Chapter 1765 The Cause of the Grand Canyon

Zhao Zhongyao had no choice but to look at Feifei again and said,' That's it, the reason why I call this huge deep pit a tiankeng. Just because it looks more like a tiankeng. But in fact it is unlikely to be a sinkhole. '

After hearing Zhao Luyao's words, Feifei said again, "Dad, you said that this huge tiankeng is not a tiankeng, so how did it form?" '

Zhao Zhongyao thought for a while and said, 'I feel that this tiankeng may be an explosion crater. '

When Feifei heard this, he said in surprise, 'Dad, how could you say that. Such a huge tiankeng, how could it be an eruption pit! '

Zhao Zhongyao thought for a while and said, 'That's it, I feel that this huge tiankeng is related to the canyon we saw just now. '

‘What, it has something to do with that canyon. What does this deep pit and that canyon matter? Isn't it just that the two terrains are relatively close! ’ Feifei looked at Dad in puzzlement and said.

'These two terrains are not only close, but also inseparable. 'Zhao Zhongyao now knows how this huge tiankeng was formed.

'Dad, why do you say that? You mean that this tiankeng was formed when it collapsed. That canyon also collapsed and formed at the same time. It's just that the collapse of that canyon formed a valley. And this place collapsed to form a tiankeng. '

Feifei thought, since the sinkholes were all formed by collapses, then this huge sinkhole and the canyon they saw just now might all be formed by collapses.

After hearing Feifei's words, Zhao Zhongyao said,'This is not the case. This huge tiankeng was not formed because of geological collapse. That canyon was not formed by any geological collapse. '

‘Oh, how did this tiankeng form? ’ After hearing what Dad said, Feifei was very puzzled.

Zhao Zhongyao thought for a while and said, 'I feel that this huge tiankeng was formed because of a meteor explosion. '

'What! Meteor Explosion! ’ After hearing what Dad said, Feifei had a puzzled expression on his face.

‘Not only this huge crater was formed because of a meteor explosion, but also the canyon just now was formed because of this meteor explosion. Zhao Zhongyao said again.

'Dad, what the hell is going on with all this, you seem to know a lot about it. Now tell me what is going on here. ’ After hearing what Dad said, Feifei became very curious.

Zhao Zhongyao thought for a while and said, 'Feifei, have you heard of the Grand Canyon above Mars! '

After hearing what his father said, Feifei said curiously, 'I've heard of it, but I don't understand how the Grand Canyon on Mars was formed. Now the scientists on my earth don't understand how the Grand Canyon on Mars was formed! '

After hearing Feifei's words, Zhao Zhongyao said, "Although scientists on earth still don't know how the Grand Canyon of Sailors on Mars was formed. But I feel that there is a theory that is more reliable. '

'What theory? ’ Feifei was a little curious.

'Meteor strikes planet says. Zhao Zhongyao said so.

‘What, it’s formed by meteors hitting the ground. How is this possible? A meteor hits the ground, doesn't it all form a big crater! How could it be a canyon. ’ After hearing what Dad said, Feifei couldn’t understand it.

‘Okay, if you want to understand this matter, let me tell you about the Grand Canyon of Mars first! Zhao Zhongyao said so.

‘Fat, then dad, tell me a story about the Grand Canyon of Mars first. Feifei looked at Zhao Zhongyao and said.

Next, Zhao Zhongyao told Feifei what he knew about the Grand Canyon of the Sailors on Mars.

Now if we look at the photos of Mars, we will find a very long "scar" on the surface of Mars. It is said that this is a very huge Grand Canyon, even the largest one in the entire solar system. How it was formed is still unknown. An unsolved mystery.

On Earth, a canyon usually means that the terrain on the sides is high and can be seen at close range, while the terrain in the middle is relatively low. The largest canyon on earth is located in China. It is the famous Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon. The total length of the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon is 505 kilometers, the deepest part is 6009 meters, and the depth is about 2268 meters. It is also deeper and longer than the famous Grand Canyon in the United States. Although it is not as long as the Nujiang Grand Canyon in my country, its steepness is unmatched by other canyons.

But whether it is the Brahmaputra Grand Canyon or the Grand Canyon of Colorado, they are really nothing compared to the huge canyons on Mars. Although the volume and mass of Mars are smaller than that of the earth, only 1/7 of the earth, the canyon on it is larger than the canyon on the earth.

Scientists named this canyon on Mars the Canyon of the Sailors, because the canyon was discovered by the Mariner 9 probe in the United States in 1972, so it was called the Canyon of the Mariners. If you use a high-definition telescope on the earth, you can also find this "scar" on Mars. According to expert calculations, the length of this canyon is about 4,500 kilometers, which is even 1,500 kilometers longer than the distance from Harbin to Guangzhou, and nine times that of the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon.

Sailor Canyon not only far exceeds the canyons on our earth in length, but also incomparable in depth and width. It is known that the widest part of Sailor Canyon is more than 600 kilometers, and the narrowest is tens of kilometers. Yarlung Zangbo River is the narrowest

The place is only tens of meters. The depth of Sailor Canyon is also very deep, most places are six to seven or eight kilometers deep, far exceeding the Brahmaputra Grand Canyon. This is the largest, longest and deepest canyon in the solar system. Because of its huge scale, people can see it with telescopes on the earth. If Mars is regarded as a disc, then this scar is like a crack on the disc.

There is no accurate statement about how the Mariners Canyon was formed. Some people think that it is the same as the formation of the canyon on the earth. It was formed by the lava activity in ancient times, which caused the plate to break. It was formed around 35 Hundreds of millions of years ago, due to the relaxation of lava activity on Mars, the lava solidified to form a rock layer, so this huge fault zone remained, but this is only a guess of scientists. Other scholars believe that this may be caused by ancient water erosion, or a crater caused by a meteorite hitting Mars, or an earthquake. In short, its formation reason is still a mystery.

Zhao Zhongyao first told Feifei what he knew about the Grand Canyon of Mars. After hearing this, Feifei became very curious about the Grand Canyon of Mars. He just wanted to know how the Mars Grand Canyon was formed. And, I also want to see this Mars Grand Canyon.

‘Dad, then tell me how the Grand Canyon of Mars was formed, isn’t it caused by plate activity! Feifei looked at Zhao Zhongyao and said.

After hearing Feifei's words, Zhao Zhongyao said, 'I feel that the Grand Canyon of Mars is not caused by any plate activity. Most likely caused by a meteor strike. '

‘What, it was caused by a meteor impact. Doesn't the meteor impact always form an impact crater! How could a Grand Canyon be formed! ’ Feifei was a little puzzled.

'Well, it doesn't mean that every meteor that hits a planet will form an impact crater. It depends on the angle from which the meteor hit the planet. If it hits the planet at a right angle, of course an impact crater will be formed. But if it hits the ground at a relatively oblique angle, it will not form an impact crater, but will form a grand canyon. '

Zhao Zhongyao has done some analysis and research on this issue before. He felt that not all meteors hit the planet's surface directly at right angles. There may also be some meteors that hit the planet's surface at extremely oblique angles. In this way, a long canyon will be formed on the surface of the planet.

After hearing what his father said, Feifei nodded and said, 'Well, in this case, it is also possible to form a long canyon. '

‘So, the Grand Canyon of the Mariners on Mars cannot be caused by any geological activity, it can only be formed by a huge meteor hitting the ground at a very oblique angle. The reason why we call the Grand Canyon of Mars a scar on Mars is because it was hit by a meteor on Mars. At that time, there must have been a huge meteor flying across the surface of Mars. But it didn't hit Mars directly, but had a close contact with Mars. If the shape of the meteor was irregular, it might have formed such a long scar when it hit Mars. '

Zhao Zhongyao has his own unique insights into how the big scars on Mars were formed.

After hearing what his father said, Feifei felt that it made sense. Because it is more reasonable to explain the cause of the great scar on Mars by using the theory of meteor impact.

It's just that Feifei thought that the big scar in front of him was a bit different from the big scar on Mars. So, he looked at Zhao Zhongyao again and asked, Dad, even the big scar on Mars was caused by the impact of a meteor. But how could the Grand Canyon above Mercury be formed by meteor impacts. There is a huge sinkhole at the end of this Grand Canyon. This is not the same as the situation on Mars. A big scar on Mars is a big pain, and there is no huge sinkhole.

Thinking of this, Feifei looked at Dad again and said, 'Dad, you said that the big scar on Mars was formed by the impact of a meteor. So do you mean to say that the Grand Canyon above Mercury was also formed by meteor impacts. And, like the reason for the formation of the Grand Canyon on Mars, it is all because of the impact of meteors at a very oblique angle. '

After hearing Feifei's words, Zhao Zhongyao smiled and said,'There are similarities between the two, but there are also differences. The big scar on Mars was formed because a huge meteor hit Mars at a very oblique angle two billion years ago.

The meteor that hit Mars at that time did not stay on the surface of Mars after hitting the surface of Mars, but ran away after drawing a large scar on the surface of Mars.

The Grand Canyon above Mercury and the huge tiankeng were formed much later. This Grand Canyon and this huge tiankeng. It was probably formed 10 million years ago by the impact of a meteor.

At that time, this meteor also hit the surface of Mercury at an extremely oblique angle. It's just that the meteor that hit Mercury was much smaller than the one that hit Mars. And the angle is slightly larger.

In this case, it leads to different results. The meteor that hit Mars just rubbed against Mars, and then escaped. The meteor that hit Mercury did not escape after hitting Mars.

Because the meteor that hit Mars was very large. Probably hundreds of kilometers in diameter. The meteor that hit Mercury was about a few kilometers in diameter.

In this way, two completely different results emerged.

The meteor that hit Mars just formed a long scar on Mars after hitting it, and then escaped.

However, the meteor that hit Mercury did not escape because it was not massive enough. The surface is to let the gravity of Mercury be captured. Instead of escaping into space, it exploded right here where we are.

The huge sinkhole we see now should have been formed by the last explosion of that meteor. This meteor did not escape Mercury's gravity, and finally "sacrificed" on Mercury. The huge meteor that hit Mars did not 'sacrifice' on Mars, but continued to move forward and flew back into space.

Of course, it may also be because the angles at which the two planets hit the planet are still not the same. The angle of the wandering star that hit Mars was probably smaller than the angle of the meteor that hit Mercury.

In this way, it is easier for the meteor that hit Mars to gain the power to fly into space again. The meteor that hit Mercury was slightly larger than the meteor that hit Mars due to the angle of impact. This leads to two different results.

The meteor that hit Mars finally managed to escape the gravity of Mars and flew into space. And the meteor that hit Mercury did not break free from Mercury's gravitational pull. It exploded directly on the surface of Mercury.