Astronauts, or 7th Grade Science Students?
A 7th grade science class has made a discovery that has scientists repositioning satellites and studying pictures like crazy. So what has them all excited? A cave, actually. But it’s a cave on Mars.
Taking part in the Mars Student Imaging Program at the Mars Space Flight Facility in Arizona, the students were analyzing pictures of the Martian surface that were taken by a NASA satellite orbiting the red planet. At one point, they pointed out a faint black spot on the surface that was later identified as a skylight, a large hole in the roof of a cave.
According to Glen Cushing, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist, the caves were most likely formed by underground volcanic activity that stopped long ago. Cushing also made sure to tell the students that their discovery was very important, as it was only the second known skylight found on the planet so far.
More detailed pictures are going to be taken of the site in coming months. The cameras used to take them are so advanced that they may actually be able to see down into the hole from miles above the surface of the planet.
To read the original article, please go to http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20100621/sc_space/7thgradersdiscovermysteriouscaveonmars/print