A giant city-sized butterfly carved into the surface of Mars millions of years ago has been photographed in a new photo thanks to European Space Agency scientists. Experts say this beautiful Martian insect with smooth, rock-like wings is a striking reminder of Mars’ violent, watery past.
The so-called Butterfly is an asymmetrical impact crater created when a giant asteroid struck Mars at an unusually low angle in the distant past. The region is located in the highly rugged, formerly volcanic Ideus Fossae region of Mars’ northern lowlands, and measures approximately 12.4 miles (20 km) from east to west and 9.3 miles (15 km) from north to south. This makes the crater large enough for Manhattan Island to fill its entire floor.
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Unlike most other impact craters in the solar system, which are circular and eject material evenly around their rims, the shallow angle of this incoming asteroid caused debris to be distributed unevenly, forming the crater’s wings.
ESA representatives said in a statement about the butterfly: “The impact caused two different chunks of material to be flung outward towards the north and south of the crater, forming two outstretched ‘wings’ of raised ground.” The uneven impact also carved the crater floor into an “irregular” walnut-like shape, the researchers added.
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These craters, commonly known as butterflies due to their round shape and rock-like wings, are extremely rare. However, this is not the first time it has been discovered on Mars.
In 2006, about three years after the Mars Express Orbiter mission began, the ESA rover destroyed Butterfly Crater in the Hesperia Planum region of Mars’ southern highlands. This crater is much more elongated than the Ideus Fosse crater, and probably has a much more insect-like appearance. (Mars’ southern highlands and northern lowlands are on either side of a geographic anomaly that “splits” Mars near the equator.)
Studying these unusual craters can help scientists better understand the angle and force of the impact that formed the crater. It could also reveal clues about hidden layers on Mars’ surface and what conditions existed when the impact occurred, according to Live Science’s sister site Space.com.
In the latest case, the ESA team noticed that the butterfly’s wings were much smoother than its fluffy, walnut-like floor. This suggests that the material is “fluidized,” or mixed with water. This most likely happened when the impact melted Martian ice buried beneath the crater, causing it to eject and cause an explosion, ESA representatives wrote.
It is currently unclear exactly when the newly photographed insect crater formed, or how large and fast the meteor that produced it was. However, pieces of space rock may remain inside the crater.
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animals of mars
This isn’t the first time scientists have discovered animal tricksters lurking on the surface of Mars.
NASA’s various Mars rovers have discovered rocks with striking similarities to life, including a turtle poking its head out of its shell, photographed by Perseverance in August, and coral-like structures photographed by the Curiosity rover in 2022.
Seen from above, certain geological features bear a striking resemblance to wildlife, including the infamous “Martian spider.” These cracks form when ice sublimates beneath the surface of Mars, and they look like swarming arachnids.
In September 2024, the Mars Express orbiter also helped reveal a dog-shaped mass hidden beneath Mars’ north pole.
These animal associations are often caused by pareidolia, a psychological phenomenon in which the human mind recognizes familiar patterns in random objects or structures, such as faces or images.
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