Ancient meteor strike on Mars created ‘planet-wide tsunami’ across long-lost alien ocean
A GIANT crater on Mars has convinced some scientists that the planet used to be home to a huge ocean which was the source of a planet sized mega-tsunami after an asteroid crashed into it.
Whether water once flowed on Mars is an ongoing debate but a new study of a crater on the planet's northern hemisphere has highlighted some features that scientists claim can only be explained by the presence of a large amount of liquid.
The study, published in the , suggests that the 75 mile crater was created when Mars was a relatively young planet.
Some scientists think that Mars was probably too cold to ever host a lot of water but others suggest that cliffs and areas on the dry surface that look like coastlines and ancient riverbeds could be evidence of an ocean around 3.7billion years ago.
As some of the suspected coastlines visible from orbit look mangled and well worn, the study researchers think this indicates an impact from sky-scraper high waves that were likely triggered by an asteroid collision.
French scientist François Costard from the University of Paris-Sud and his team members wrote: "Recent research suggests that major meteorite impact events into a Late Hesperian/Early Amazonian ocean likely produced a mega‐tsunami that would have resurfaced coastal areas."
The researchers initially observed lots of craters in the area where the Mars ocean may have been that looked like they'd been scarred by the violent flow of water after a mega-tsunami.
However, they eventually homed in on a crater called Lomonosov, which they think is likely to have been created by a 9-by-12 mile meteor.
The crater physically resembles the marine craters that we have on Earth.
The researchers concluded that this suspected Martian ocean could be a good place to look for evidence of life on the planet.
Some people theorise that the ocean would have been fed by underground bodies of water so geochemical signatures of any ancient microbiology could indicate that simple life could still be under the surface of Mars in suspected liquid acquifer rocks.
This research still doesn't count as conclusive evidence that a northern ocean on Mars ever existed though so more studies and debates will continue.
Mars facts
Here's what you need to know about the red planet...
- Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun
- It is named after the Roman god of war
- The landmass of Mars is very similar to Earth but due to the difference in gravity you could jump three times higher there than you can here
- Mars is mountainous and hosts the tallest mountain known in the Solar System called Olympus Mons, which is three times higher than Everest
- Mars is considered to be the second most habitable planet after Earth
- It takes the planet 687 Earth days to orbit the Sun
- So far, there has been 39 missions to Mars but only 16 of these have been successful
TOP STORIES IN SCIENCE
In other space news, there's renewed hope in the search for alien life after scientists recently discovered two Earth-like planets orbiting a nearby star.
Astronomers uncover planet with three suns that’s ‘best place for signs of alien life’ – and has permanent 160C weather.
And, aliens may be headed for Earth to ‘enslave, destroy or eat us’ and our bright lights are to blame, scientist warns.
What do you make of this Mars tsunami theory? Let us know in the comments...
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.