Name: Is There Water on Mars? - Scientists Find Water Bodies on Mars
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Is There Water on Mars? - Scientists Find Water Bodies on Mars

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In 2018, planetary scientist Roberto Orosei and his colleagues stirred up a multi-planetary controversy when they claimed they'd found evidence of a subglacial lake nearly a mile below ice at Mars's south pole. At the time, fellow planetary scientists met the claims with intense scrutiny.Now, Orosei, a planetary scientist at Italy's National Institute for Astrophysics, and his fellow researchers say they have new, additional evidence that these deep, vast subglacial lakes really do exist. They published this week in the journal Nature Astronomy.🌌 You like badass space stuff. So do we. If these lakes are, in fact, real, they could reshape our understanding of whether life could still exist on Mars. “This area is the closest thing to ‘habitable’ on Mars that has been found so far,” Orosei told .The Key Ingredient: SaltScientists believe Mars was covered in a vast network of liquid water seas roughly 4 billion years ago. Now, the planet is a dusty, desolate wasteland. But some of that water is still on Mars's surface in the form of ice tucked along steep crater walls at the planet's poles. Because the surface of Mars is so cold—and because atmospheric pressure is so low—liquid water can't exist on its surface.You'll Love TheseThe secret ingredient in keeping Martian water liquid below the surface, researchers believe, could be salt. Because salt lowers the freezing temperature of water, it's more likely that any liquid water below the Red Planet's surface would have a nice brine to it. “If the bright material really is liquid water, I think it’s more likely to represent some sort of slush or sludge,” planetary geophysicist Mike Sori, of Purdue University, told . There's a chance that nearby source of geothermal energy could also be warming up the water.This content is imported from {embed-name}. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.In total, the latest observations revealed three new possible bodies of water in addition to the one previously spotted in 2018. The largest of the buried lakes, the (ESA) reports, can be found along Mars's southern pole and measures roughly 12 by 18 miles. Based on the data, it also appears to be surrounded by a cluster of three small ponds.So what does this mean for the search for evidence of life on Mars? Salty environments are notoriously difficult for microbial life, but some extremophiles have found a way to live in similar habitats on Earth. For example, in 2016, researchers along the salt-encrusted edges of Mono Lake in California. Analyzing Old DataOrosei and his team analyzed data from the ESA's Mars Express probe, which has orbited Mars since 2o03. The orbiter's MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding) instrument, which keyed researchers in on the 2018 discovery, shoots radio waves at Mars's surface in order to find pockets of liquid amid deposits of harder materials like rock and ice. Radar signatures reflected from liquid are different—in this case, showing up as a bright white smudge—from surrounding rock and ice. (This is the same technique that has helped scientists find water beneath large glaciers here on Earth.)More from MarsOrosei and his team studied 134 observations collected by MARSIS between 2012 and 2019. (One of the reasons the 2018 findings were so controversial is that the team relied on only 29 MARSIS observations gathered between 2012 and 2015.)Still, more research is needed. Fortunately, three missions are headed for the Red Planet. China's Tiawen-1 mission, for example, has an orbiter equipped with radar instruments that could help pinpoint whether liquid water really is churning below Mars's surface.Celestron FirstScope$64.95A barebones telescope with a 76mm that's great at getting anyone started with astronomy.&nbsp;AWB OneSky$199.99A reflector telescope wit ha 5-inch aperture, this is the consensus pick for&nbsp;best telescope on a budget. Plus, half of your money will go toward supporting Astronomers Without Borders.Levenhuk SkylineIf you like to get hands on, this Levenhuk is a tradiontal telescope that Space.com calls a "learning experience" from set up.Celestron NexStar 130SLT$549.95 (14% off)Like OneSky, this telescope also has a 5-inch aperture but it's computerized so it can help you find objects in the night sky.Orion 8945 SkyQuest XT8$649.99If you don't need a computer bossing you around, you can get this XT8, which comes with a larger aperture, for under $400.&nbsp;Celestron NexStar 6 SE$1,099.00The next step in telescope tech is the NexStar 6 SE. This compound telescope uses lenses and mirrors to make it more compact.Orion SkyQuest XT10iWithout investing too much more, you can upgrade from to a 10-inch aperture that can make nebulas and star clusters look incredibly bright.&nbsp;Celestron NexStar 8 SE$1,590.15One of the best telescopes out there, the 8 SE&nbsp;combines Celestron's 40,000+ objection detection system with an 8-inch aperture. The only telescope an amateur astronomer will ever need.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowAdvertisement - Continue Reading Below

In 2018, planetary scientist Roberto Orosei and his colleagues stirred up a multi-planetary controversy when they claimed they'd found evidence of a subglacial lake nearly a mile below ice at Mars's south pole. At the time, fellow planetary scientists met the claims with intense scrutiny.Now, Orosei, a planetary scientist at Italy's National Institute for Astrophysics, and his fellow researchers say they have new, additional evidence that these deep, vast subglacial lakes really do exist. They published this week in the journal Nature Astronomy.🌌 You like badass space stuff. So do we. If...

Is There Water on Mars? - Scientists Find Water Bodies on Mars

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