Martian Streaks Are Dry

Dark lines appearing on Martian slopes have triggered theories of flowing water or brine on the planet’s surface. But a new study suggests that these features are, instead, dry. To explore these streaks, the team assembled a global database of sightings and correlated their map with other known quantities, like temperature, wind speed, and rock slides. By connecting the data across thousands of streaks, they could build statistics about what variables correlated with the streaks’ appearance.

What they found was that streaks didn’t appear in places connected to liquid water or even frost. Instead, the streaks appeared in spots with high wind speeds and heavy dust accumulation. The team included that, rather than being moist areas, the streaks are dry and form when dust slides down the slope, perhaps triggered by high winds or passing dust devils.

Although showing that the streaks aren’t associated with water may seem disappointing, it may mean that NASA will be able to explore them sooner. Right now, NASA avoids sending rovers anywhere near water, out of concern that Earth microbes still on the rover could contaminate the Martian environment. (Image credit: NASA; research credit: V. Bickel and A. Valantinas; via Gizmodo)

#fluidDynamics #geophysics #Mars #physics #planetaryScience #science

New #openaccess publication #SciPost #Physics

Random circuits in the black hole interior

Javier M. Magan, Martin Sasieta, Brian Swingle
SciPost Phys. 19, 007 (2025)
https://scipost.org/SciPostPhys.19.1.007

#CAB #BalseiroInstitute #BrandeisUniversity

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Figuring out how heavier atoms form. As Douglas Adams said, "The secret is to bang the rocks together, guys."

"Atomic nuclei accelerate to half the speed of light, smash into a target and shatter into smithereens. The collisions create some of the same rare, unstable isotopes that arise inside stars and which, through a sequence of further reactions, end up as heavy elements.

FRIB scientists have been re-creating the recipe."

https://www.quantamagazine.org/physicists-start-to-pin-down-how-stars-forge-heavy-atoms-20250702/

#Atoms #Stars #Processes #Nuclear #Physics

I love how new techniques prove how primitive our technology still is.

https://phys.org/news/2025-06-discovery-quantum-materials-electronics-faster.html

#physics #computing #technology #research