Chapter 1577: Causes of the Grand Canyon

Chapter 1765: Causes of the Grand Canyon
Zhao Zhongyao had to look at Feifei again and said, ‘That’s right, the reason I call this huge pit is Tiankeng. Just because it looks more like a tiankeng. But in fact it is unlikely to be a sinkhole. ’
After hearing what Zhao Luyao said, Feifei said again, ‘Dad, you said this huge sinkhole is not a sinkhole, so how did it form? ’
Zhao Zhongyao thought for a while and said, ‘I feel that this sinkhole may be an explosion pit. ’
When Feifei heard this, she said in surprise, ‘Dad, how can you say that. How could such a huge sinkhole be an explosion pit! ’
Zhao Zhongyao thought for a while and said, ‘That’s right, I feel that this huge sinkhole is related to the canyon we saw just now. ’
‘What, it has something to do with that gorge. What is the relationship between this pit and the canyon? Isn't it that the two terrains are closer together! Feifei looked at his father puzzled and said.
‘These two terrains are not only close together, but also have a relationship that is not separated. "Zhao Zhongyao now knows how this huge tiankeng formed.
‘Dad, how do you say that, you mean, when this sinkhole was formed when it collapsed. That gorge also collapsed and formed at the same time. It's just that the valley collapsed to form a valley. And this place collapsed and formed a sinkhole. ’
Feifei thought, since the tiankeng was formed by collapse, then this huge tiankeng and the gorge they saw just now may have been formed by the collapse.
After hearing Feifei’s words, Zhao Zhongyao said, ‘This is not the case. This huge sinkhole was not formed by geological collapse. That gorge was not formed because of geological collapse. ’
‘Oh, how did this sinkhole form? Feifei was very puzzled when he heard what his father said.
Zhao Zhongyao thought for a while and said, ‘I feel that this huge sinkhole was formed by the explosion of a meteor. ’
'what! Meteor explosion! Feifei looked puzzled after hearing what his father said.
‘Not only this huge sinkhole was formed by the explosion of a meteor, and the valley just now was also formed by the explosion of this meteor. Zhao Zhongyao said again.
‘Dad, what the is going on, you seem to know this very well. You are now the Lord talk about what is going on. Feifei was very curious after hearing what his father said.
Zhao Zhongyao thought for a while and said, ‘Feifei, have you heard of the Grand Canyon on Mars! ’
After hearing what his father said, Feifei curiously said, ‘I’ve heard of it, but I don’t understand how the Grand Canyon on Mars is formed. Scientists on my planet don’t understand how the Grand Canyon on Mars formed! ’
After hearing Feifei’s words, Zhao Zhongyao said, ‘Although the scientists on Earth don’t know how the Mariner’s Canyon on Mars was formed. But I feel that there is a theory that is more reliable. ’
‘What theory? Feifei is a little curious.
‘Said the meteor hit the planet. Said Zhao Zhongyao.
‘What, is formed by a meteor hitting the ground. How is this possible? When a meteor hits the ground, doesn't it all form a big crater? How could it be a canyon. Feifei couldn't understand what his father said.
‘Okay, if you want to understand this, let me tell you about the Grand Canyon of Mars! Said Zhao Zhongyao.
‘Fat, then, dad, you will first tell a story about the Grand Canyon of Mars. Feifei looked at Zhao Zhongyao and said.
Next, Zhao Zhongyao told Feifei what he knew about the Sailor Grand Canyon above Mars.
Now when we look at the photos of Mars, we will find that there is a very long "scar" on the surface of Mars. It is said that this is a very huge canyon, and even the largest one in the entire solar system. How it formed is still An unsolved mystery.
On the earth, a canyon usually means that the terrain on both sides is high and can be seen up close, while the terrain in the middle is relatively low. The largest canyon on earth is located in China. It is the famous Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon. The Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon is 505 kilometers long. The deepest place is 6,009 meters and the depth is about 2,268 meters. It is the largest canyon in the world, even It is deeper and longer than the famous Colorado 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 Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon or the Colorado Grand Canyon, they are nothing compared to the huge canyons on Mars. Although the volume and mass of Mars are smaller than that of Earth, only 17 of the Earth, the canyon above it is larger than the canyon on Earth.
Scientists named this canyon on Mars the Mariner's Canyon. Because this canyon was discovered by the Mariner 9 probe in 1972, it was called Mariner's Canyon. If you use a telescope with higher definition on the earth, you can also find this "scar" on Mars. According to expert calculations, the extension length of this canyon is about 4,500 kilometers, which is even 1,500 kilometers longer than the distance from Harbin to Guangzhou and 9 times as much as the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon.
Sailor Canyon is not only much longer than the canyons on our planet, but also incomparable in depth and width. It is understood that the widest place of Sailor Canyon is more than 600 kilometers, and the narrowest is dozens of kilometers. The narrowest part of the Yarlung Zangbo River 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 Yarlung Zangbo River 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 seen as a round plate, then the scar is like a crack on the disc.
Regarding the formation of Sailor Canyon, there is no accurate statement. Some people believe that it is formed by the same reason as the formation of the canyon on the earth. It was formed by lava activities in ancient times, which caused the plate to break. Its formation time was about 35. Hundreds of millions of years ago, due to the relaxation of lava activity on Mars, the lava solidified to form rock formations, so this huge fracture zone was also left, but this is only a guess of scientists. Other scholars believe that this may be caused by ancient water erosion, a crater caused by a meteorite hitting Mars, or an earthquake. In short, the reason for its formation is still a mystery.
Zhao Zhongyao first told Feifei some of his knowledge about the Mars Grand Canyon. After Feifei heard this, he was very curious about this Martian Grand Canyon. He just wanted to know how the Mars Grand Canyon was formed. Also, I would like to see this Mars Grand Canyon.
‘Dad, how did you think about the formation of the Mars Grand Canyon? Isn’t it the result of plate activity? Feifei looked at Zhao Zhongyao and said.
After hearing Feifei’s words, Zhao Zhongyao said, ‘I feel that this Mars Grand Canyon is not caused by plate activity. It is most likely caused by a meteor impact. ’
‘What, it was caused by meteor impact. Doesn't the meteor impact always form an impact crater? How could a grand canyon be formed! Feifei is a little puzzled.
‘That’s right, it’s not that all meteors will form an impact crater after they hit a planet. 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 hitting the surface of the planet at an extremely oblique angle. In this way, a long canyon will be formed on the surface of the planet.
Feifei heard what his father said and nodded and said, ‘Well, in this case, it is possible to form a long canyon. ’
‘So, the Grand Canyon of the Mariners on Mars cannot be caused by geological activities. It can only be formed by a huge meteor hitting the ground at a very oblique angle. The reason why we call the Mars Grand Canyon a scar on Mars is because it was caused by a meteor impact on Mars. At that time, there must be a huge meteor flying over the surface of Mars. But it did not directly hit Mars, but made a close contact with Mars. If the shape of the meteor is an irregular shape, it is possible that such a long scar will be formed when it hits Mars. ’
Zhao Zhongyao has his own most unique insights into how the big scars on Mars are formed.
Feifei felt very reasonable after hearing what his father said. It is only reasonable to use meteor impact to explain the cause of the scar on Mars.
It was just that Feifei thought that the big scar in front of him was a little different from the big scar on Mars. So he looked at Zhao Zhongyao again and asked, ‘Dad, even the big scar on Mars is formed by meteor impact. But how could this Grand Canyon above Mercury also be formed by a meteor impact? There is a huge sinkhole at the end of the Grand Canyon. This is not the same as the situation on Mars. The big scar on Mars is just a big one, and there is no huge sinkhole.
Thinking of this, Feifei looked at Dad again and said, ‘Dad, you said that the big scars on Mars were formed by meteor impacts. Do you mean that the Grand Canyon above Mercury was also formed by meteor impact. And, just like the cause of the formation of the Grand Canyon on Mars, it was the result of meteors colliding 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 struck Mars at that time did not stay on the surface of Mars after it hit the surface of Mars. Instead, it ran away after tracing a large scar on the surface of Mars.
And this grand canyon above Mercury also has this huge sinkhole, which was formed much later. This grand canyon also has this huge sinkhole. It may have been formed by a meteor impact 10 million years ago.
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 is 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 on Mars, and then fled again. The meteor that hit Mercury did not escape after hitting Mars.
Because the meteor that hit Mars is very big. Probably hundreds of kilometers in diameter. The diameter of this meteor that hit Mercury is about several kilometers.
Since then, two completely different results have appeared. The meteor that hit Mars only formed a long scar on Mars after it hit Mars, and then escaped.
But the meteor that hit Mercury did not escape because of its insufficient mass. The face is to capture the gravity of Mercury. It failed to escape into space, but exploded where we are now.
The huge sinkhole we see now should have been formed by the last explosion of the meteor. This meteor did not escape the gravity of the dehydrated star, and finally "sacrificed" on Mercury. And the huge meteor that hit Mars did not "sacrifice" on Mars, but continued to advance and flew back into space.
Of course, it may also be because the angles of the two planets when they hit the planet are still different. The angle of the wandering star that hit Mars may be smaller than the angle of the meteor that hit Mercury.
In this way, it is easier for the meteor that hits Mars to get the power to fly into space again. The meteor that hit Mercury was slightly larger than the one that hit Mars due to the angle of the impact. This led to two different results.
The meteor that hit Mars finally escaped the gravity of Mars and flew into space. The meteor that hit Mercury did not have the gravity of the dehydrated star. It exploded directly on the surface of Mercury.