Planet Four Talk

Strange pattern formation

  • Bamse78 by Bamse78

    What is the dark patches composed of? Material or shadows due to elevated terrain? How is it possible for straight lines to appear in the dark edges?

    Posted

  • JellyMonster by JellyMonster

    They look like massive fans (dirt and dust ejected from below the surface). It is quite normal for straight lines to appear on these. Fans are quite common (they are wind dependent). Will try and find a link for them... ah, good, Kitharode has just bailed me out 😃.

    Posted

  • Kitharode by Kitharode moderator

    Hi Bamse78. I can help a little with the first part of your question. Some of us use the (unofficial) name of 'grust' to describe the dark material. It's the CO2 gas, grit and dust (hence grust) that is vented through the icelayer. If you haven't seen it yet try here http://planetfour.org/#/about

    The straight lines are often more difficult to explain, especially if the objects spill off the edge of the image like yours do. So I'll not confuse the issue by giving you my guesses, but you'll meet plenty of straight line fans on here and you'll soon be making more sense of it all after a while.

    Hope that gives you a start. Nice to see you here. Kith.

    Posted