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| Image credit: SWRI |
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| What Impact Would Set the World on Fire? |
| Aug 30, 2004 - When a huge asteroid slammed into the Earth 65 million years ago, it began a catastrophic chain of events that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, and 75% of the species on Earth. One devastating aspect of the event was when hot debris rained down, starting enormous wildfires across the entire planet. Scientists from the Southwest Research Institute have come up with a model that calculates how large an impact had to be to cause massive fires. A crater 85 km (52 miles) across probably caused continent-wide fires, and a crater 135 km (83 miles) across could ignite fires around the whole world. (Full Story) |
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| Image credit: ESA |
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| Mars Express View of Eos Chasma |
| Aug 30, 2004 - This image, taken by the European Space Agency's Mars Express, is of a region on Mars called Eos Chasma; it's on the southern end of the Valles Marineris. The highest point of the plateau is 5,000 metres (3.1 miles) above the valley floor. Scientists know the higher plains are a much older feature because they have a number of ancient large impact craters that have remained for billions of years. (Full Story) |
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