Images released Wednesday by the European Space Agency (ESA) appeared to show black “spiders” crawling over a long-lost “Inca city” on Mars.
Much to the shock and devastation of hopefully not many people, the image shared by the ESA does not reveal that the Red Planet (which isn’t even red) is not inhabited by giant black spiders who dwell in the archaeological remains of an ancient human civilization. The image actually shows what happens when spring sunshine meets layers of carbon dioxide deposits, according to an explanation from the agency.
Spiders on Mars?
No, these dark spots, seen by ESA’s Mars Express on the outskirts of an area nicknamed ‘Inca City’ in the southern polar region of Mars, have a more ‘down to Earth’ explanation… pic.twitter.com/1A31L2iOMN
— European Space Agency (@esa) April 24, 2024
Sunlight causes the ice formed from frozen carbon dioxide to turn into gas, which builds up and erupts through the top layers of overlying ice. As the gas is dragged upwards during the spring melt, it creates dark dust cloud-like fountains and geysers, as depicted in the photographs.
But that definitely isn’t a long-lost “Inca City” in the depths of the Martian landscape. The site is actually called the Angustus Labyrinthus, which was discovered in 1972. (RELATED: Scientists Stunned By What They’re Seeing In New Images Of Deep Space)
Yet even the ESA says the area is a bit of a mystery given the linear, geometric-style network of ridges seen in the image. The ESA says they still have no idea how the region formed such specific features. Ideas range from magma or sand seeping through Martian rock or could have been formed by glacial processes.