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SPACE
Likea scaronthefaceofMars,VallesMarineriscuts
aroundeightkilometresintotheplanet’scrust.This
grandvalleystretches4,000kilometresinlengthand
600 kilometresw ide,makingit thelargestcanyonin
theSolarSystem.VallesMarinerisismadeupofa
collection of troughs, much like Earth’s ow n Grand
Canyon in A rizona. It’s still relatively unknow n as to
what caused this enormous blemish on Mars’ surface,
although there are plent y of theories. The leading idea
relates to a particularly eruptive region of Mars called
Tharsis. This region of the Red Planet is home to a series of
giant volcanoes, including Tharsis Montes and Oly mpus
Mons. It’s believed that around 3.5 billion years ago, during
their volcanic formation, Mars’ crust was stretched and cracked
toformfracturesonthesurface.Overtimethesecrackscontinuedto
growand,alongsideMars’once-flow ingsurfacewater,erodedMartian
tTHE EVEN
GRANDER
CANYON
© NASAImaginea placewheretheSunrarelysets
andmountainsareeternallybathedin
light.WellonMercury,sucha place
exists.Onits88-dayjourneyaroundthe
Sun,Mercuryexperiencesvirtuallynotilt
onitsaxis,meaningsomeareasonits
surfacearecontinuallyexposedor
shadowedfromthesunlight.Duringthe
daytimeMercury’ssurfacecanreacha
scorching 430 degreesCelsius,andat
nightcanfalltominus 180 degrees
Celsius.The‘peakofeternallight’,found
onMercury’ssouthpole,is litupbythe
Sunaround 82 percentofthetime.AtMercury’ssouthpole,a ‘peakofeternallight’
hasbeendiscoveredwhichrarelyevadessunlight© NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied PhysicETERNAL
SUNLIGHT
CLIFF
CirclingUranus,between2.6and3.2billion
kilometres from Earth, the moon Miranda
has a cliff so tall you would need to stack
around 45 Empire State Buildings to reach to
the top. Around 20-kilometres high – or deep,
depending on where you’re standing – Verona
Rupes is the tallest cliff in our Solar System.
This thrill-seeker’s dream was first captured
in 1986 by NASA’s satellite probe, Voyager 2.
Due to the reduced gravity on Miranda,
falling from the top it would take you around
12 minutes to reach the bottom, albeit at 200
kilometres per hour. Scientists are still
unaware of how this cosmic cliff was created,
but theories allude to the possibility of a
major impact on the moon’s surface.NASA’s unmanned Mariner 9 spacecraft
was the first to spot Mars’s massive
canyon back in 1972AR ZONE!
The Empire State
Building, New York
443.2 metres tallMount Thor,
Canada
1,250 metres tallVerona Rupes,Miranda
20,000 metres tall1,000
metres5,0002,0006,0003,0007,0004,0008,0009,00010,00011,00012,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000© Science photo Library
Scaling
the Solar
System’s
biggest
cliff