Atom Wrote:
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> I'm not buying it yet.
>
> Different atmospheres can provide different rates
> of erosion by wind. I think NASA is being a bit
> hasty. They're trying to find water instead of
> objectively looking at the planet.
>
I'd agree. In contrast to, at least as stated in the article, wind certainly can move rocks much larger than those shown and you find similar wind and vibration-based fan-type traces on Earth.
Big-ass rock moved by wind:
The mechanics:
Hey, whaddaya know... a big-ass rock moved by wind with a bunch of smaller pebbles around it just like in the article:
I'm sure at least somebody at NASA knows that since the first picture is from their own planetary sciences program.