He doesn’t like to chat with me



I am 14 years old and I know this guy who used to study in my tuition class. After he left the class we started chatting online (before we never used to talk to each other). He admitted that he “like me” and wanted to be in a relationship. I declined saying that we were too young. We became good friends and texted each other every day. But after a few weeks he texted me saying that he doesn’t like to chat with me and I am just “wasting his damn time”! And he said, “not to be rude but I am blocking you”! I was very hurt by his actions and because of this I cannot focus on my studies. Please help.



At the age of 14 you started chatting online with a guy who used to study in your tuition class. You “became good friends and texted each other every day” because he “wanted to be in a relationship”. With the passing of time he realized that much of his time was getting wasted and decided to stop this relationship. Now you are “very hurt” and “cannot focus” on your studies. You should learn from this experience not to hurry into online relationships at a very young age, because only words will be exchanged, not real knowledge and experience of each other. Love implies giving and taking, sacrificing, forgiving always and growing together each day. This cannot be done online.



 



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I am really confused



I am 21 years old and I am preparing for my CA final exams. I am in a happy relationship with a guy but unable to focus on my studies. We frequently meet each other because of which I get less time to study and the course demands 12-13 hours study time. I really love him and don’t want to break our relationship. I am really confused about what I should do. Please help me out so that my studies don’t get affected by this.



You are no more a teenager and are preparing for your final CA exams. In this important period of your life which “demands 12-13 hours study time” every day you frequently meet a guy with whom you are “in a happy relationship” which you “don’t want to break”. The problem is that this situation has a negative impact on you as you are unable to focus on your studies. Probably he too must be experiencing the same. At this point of your life you should realize that in a relationship what matters is not the quantity of time spent together, rather the quality. A few moments spent together sharing your life situation and your plans for the future are more important than a long time spent together just looking into each other’s eyes. You are acting like an infatuated teenager not like a responsible adult.



 



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I think he likes me



I’m a 13-year-old-girl. I love someone in my class but he loves someone else. He talks to me and shares his problems with me, which he doesn’t do with his girlfriend. I think he likes me but how can I be sure?



At the age of 13 it is easy to get confused between loving someone and liking someone. ‘Love is a deep commitment of mind and heart with a chosen one who shares the same values. Liking someone is often related to physical attraction and related feelings. Try to enter into good friendships with many young people of your age and do not get involved in other people’s relationships.



 



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I think about him all the time



I am 16 years old. A few months ago I met a boy on Facebook who is 6 months older than me. We became really good friends and gradually began talking on the phone. I started liking him and he knows about it. But in the past few days he started ignoring me and I felt really bad about it. Now that he has his exams we hardly talk on the phone. I am finding it really difficult to concentrate on my studies as I keep thinking about him all the time. I don’t know if this is infatuation or just so-called hormonal changes. Please help me out so that my studies don’t get affected by this.



What you are feeling for that boy whom you met on Facebook and with whom you had a few talk on the phone is clearly an example of infatuation. You would like to have his full attention and “keep thinking about him all the time”. If he ignores you for a few days you feel “really bad about it” and find it very difficult to concentrate on your studies. At your age the confusion of infatuation with true love is quite common. Infatuation is an exciting experience but can be quite troublesome, because it makes people totally depressed if rejected by the one they feel in love with. It also makes people ineffective as other activities are suspended and only daydreaming about the loved one matters. Stop daydreaming and turn your mind and heart to your loving family, your duties as a student, your beautiful friendships with people of your age. Last, but not the least, turn your heart and mind to God who loves you and gave you life.



 



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Should listen to my friend?



I am in love with a guy who has just proposed to me. But I have two best friends who don’t trust him at all. Now one of them trusts him but the other still doesn’t. She says that he will cheat on me. But in his school he broke his hand while playing a dare just for me. Should I listen to my friend or should I continue with him since he loves me very much.



At the age of 14 you have just opened your mind and heart to a relationship with a boy your age who proposed to you. Now you are confused as one of your friends trusts him while another says that he will cheat on you. From your side you feel that you are in love with him. Since at your very young age you cannot commit yourself to a permanent relationship, the best thing you can do is to propose to him to start just a friendly relationship with him. This will give you time to know him better and for him to know you. Your future is in the hands of God.



 



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Both of us love each other a lot



I love a guy a lot and he loves me too. I am one year younger than him. The problem is that after a few months he will be going to another state far away from me. I am confused about whether I should remain in a relationship with him or not. Both of us love each other a lot. What should I do?



You are just 15 and that boy is 16. In a few months he will be going to another state. You are now confused about whether to continue this relationship or to stop it. The best you can do is to propose to keep in touch as good friends and share your joys and sorrows as friends do. Friendship is important at all stages of life, but is particularly crucial during the teen years when a sense of insecurity dominates emotions and feelings. Adolescents are undergoing profound changes from complete dependence from their parents to an unstable independence. Their inner SELF is constantly changing and undergoing formation. No serious and permanent commitment is possible at this age.



 



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She is like a sister to me



I’ve a very good friend who’s just like a sister to me. She’s is the only one I can trust in this world. But I’ve many flaws in me and that creates a lot of problems between us. I recently met a boy, who was in my class some years ago, on a social networking site. We became friends and entered into a relationship; I didn’t tell her but she guessed it. And she felt really bad. We are good friends again but I can feel that the warmth is missing now. I really love and want my sister back. I can’t imagine myself without her because I am not close to anyone else, not even my family. Please help me out.



It is painful to read that you are “not close to anyone, not even your family” and that your friend is the only one you can trust in this world. Your parents brought you in this world, love you and take care of your education. They would be very upset if they come to know about that. Fix your priorities in life and do not run after dreams of “love” about which you have no experience.



 



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My friend was addicted to betting



My friend was addicted to betting. He owes 2 lakh rupees to some people. He is studying in college and he can’t ask his parents for help. What can I do for him? He is my best friend. I care for him and I love him so much that I can’t let him be in trouble!



A college student who is addicted to betting and “owes 2 lakh rupees to some people” is definitely in trouble, because “he can’t ask his parents for help”. His parents do not know about his addiction and may be in a difficult financial situation. You, too, who cares for him and love him cannot do anything., your friend should have the courage to tell the truth to his family and find a solution along with them. You just cannot do anything.



 



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I have feelings both for girls and for boys



I am a girl, but I have feelings both for girls and for boys. It is very confusing. I don’t understand my sexuality. And I’m scared to talk about this. I’m scared that people will start rejecting me. I don’t really know if I’m bisexual. Please help.



At the age of 15 your sexuality is not yet fully matured and it is possible to experience confusion in relationships. After a few years you will mature your feelings and emotions. There is no need for you to worry now about your sexual identity. If you face any problem in future you can trust the opinion of your parents or of an experienced counsellor.



 



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I am not able to forget my past



I met a guy 2 years ago and I had a kind of attraction towards him from the very first day. Then 2 months after meeting, he proposed to me and we were in a relationship for about one and a half year. Then due to some reasons we broke up. After about 6 months he again proposed to me and apologized for his mistakes and I totally believed him. Two months later, I learned that he was cheating me and he was in a relationship with another girl. I was completely broken. Meanwhile, I met a guy who was very caring and was possessive about me. We used to spend maximum time together. He proposed to me but because of my past I am not able to trust anyone anymore. I am not able to forget my past or able to live my present. Please help.



At the age of 13 you felt “a kind of attraction” towards a boy. Attraction is mainly caused by a physical emotion towards a person of the opposite sex. It has nothing to do with love or a true friendship; in fact, after one and a half years your relationship broke up. After patching up with him you came to know that he was in a relationship with another girl. Friendly relationships come and go during the teenage. An exclusive love commitment is not possible and not advisable at your age. Therefore, there is no need of getting “completely broken” about it. The fact that in the meantime you met a boy who is “possessive” about you is not a positive experience. A free relationship with mutual respect is the best at your age. Learn from your past not to be emotional and possessive in your relationships and live your present with trust and confidence in your friends.



 



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What is the Jupiter?



Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with thick bands of brown, yellow, and white clouds. Its atmosphere is made up of hydrogen and helium gas, just like our Sun, and if it was much more massive, it could become a star! Jupiter took shape when the rest of the solar system formed about 4.5 billion years ago, when gravity pulled swirling gas and dust in to become this gas giant. Jupiter took most of the mass left over after the formation of the Sun, ending up with more than twice the combined material of the other bodies in the solar system. In fact, Jupiter has the same ingredients as a star, but it did not grow massive enough to ignite. As a gas giant, Jupiter doesn’t have a true surface. The planet is mostly swirling gases and liquids. While a spacecraft would have nowhere to land on Jupiter, it wouldn’t be able to fly through unscathed either. The extreme pressures and temperatures deep inside the planet crush, melt and vaporize spacecraft trying to fly into the planet.



Giant planet



Jupiter is the king of solar system. It is an amazing 143,000 km (89,000 miles) wide. Jupiter is so large that all of the other planets could fit inside it! The planet is mostly made of hydrogen and helium surrounding a dense core of rocks and ice, with most of its bulk likely made up of liquid metallic hydrogen, which creates a huge magnetic field. Jupiter is visible with the naked eye and was known by the ancients. Its atmosphere consists mostly of hydrogen, helium, ammonia and methane.



Juno Mission



NASA’s Juno spacecraft is helping scientists to understand how Jupiter formed. It is orbiting closer to the gas giant than any spacecraft has before.



Juno's mission is to measure Jupiter's composition, gravity field, magnetic field, and polar magnetosphere. It will also search for clues about how the planet formed, including whether it has a rocky core, the amount of water present within the deep atmosphere, mass distribution, and its deep winds, which can reach speeds up to 618 kilometers per hour (384 mph).



Juno is the second spacecraft to orbit Jupiter, after the nuclear powered Galileoorbiter, which orbited from 1995 to 2003. Unlike all earlier spacecraft sent to the outer planets, Juno is powered by solar arrays, commonly used by satellites orbiting Earth and working in the inner Solar System, whereas radioisotope thermoelectric generators are commonly used for missions to the outer Solar System and beyond. For Juno, however, the three largest solar array wings ever deployed on a planetary probe play an integral role in stabilizing the spacecraft as well as generating power.



Beneath the clouds



Any spacecrafts that passed through Jupiter’s clouds would be crushed and melted by the huge pressure. Scientists believe that beneath the clouds there is a giant ocean made of liquid metal.



Jupiter’s rings



Jupiter has three thin rings, called the Jovian Rings. They are mostly made of dust and can only be seen when viewed from behind Jupiter, when they are lit up by the Sun. The main ring is flattened. It is about 20 miles (30 km) thick and more than 4,000 miles (6,400 km) wide.



The inner cloud-like ring, called the halo, is about 12,000 miles (20,000 km) thick. The halo is caused by electromagnetic forces that push grains away from the plane of the main ring. This structure extends halfway from the main ring down to the planet's cloud tops and expands. Both the main ring and halo are composed of small, dark particles of dust.



The third ring, known as the gossamer ring because of its transparency, is actually three rings of microscopic debris from three of Jupiter's moons, Amalthea, Thebe and Adrastea. It is probably made up of dust particles less than 10 microns in diameter, about the same size of the particles found in cigarette smoke, and extends to an outer edge of about 80,000 miles (129,000 km) from the center of the planet and inward to about 18,600 miles (30,000 km).



Great Red Spot



One of the Jupiter’s most famous features is the Great Red Spot. It is a huge storm, more than three times the size of Earth, that has been raging for hundreds of years!



The red colour of the Great Red Spot is thought to be caused by organic molecules, red phosphorous or other elements that come from inside Jupiter. Some theories propose that the colour is caused by reactions between these chemicals in Jupiter’s atmosphere, or by lightning striking the molecules. The colour is not always the same, either: sometimes it is dark red, while at other times it is a pale pink colour, or even white! Perhaps Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is not so red after all!



 



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What is Asteroid belt?



Between the planets Mars and Jupiter lies the asteroid belt. It is home to tens of thousands of asteroids. These rocky objects are leftovers from the early Solar System, and are too small to be considered planets. They come in different shapes and sizes with the smallest being less than 1 km (0.6 miles) wide. Some asteroids have moons and one even has rings!



Most of the asteroids in the Main Belt are made of rock and stone, but a small portion of them contain iron and nickel metals. The remaining asteroids are made up of a mix of these, along with carbon-rich materials. Some of the more distant asteroids tend to contain more ices. Although they aren't large enough to maintain an atmosphere, but there is evidence that some asteroids contain water.



Some asteroids are large, solid bodies — there are more than 16 in the belt with a diameter greater than 150 miles (240 km). The largest asteroids, Vesta, Pallas and Hygiea, are 250 miles (400 km) long and bigger. The region also contains the dwarf planet Ceres. At 590 miles (950 km) in diameter, or about a quarter of the size of our moon, Ceres is round yet is considered too small to be a full-fledged planet. However, it makes up approximately a third of the mass of the asteroid belt.



Other asteroids are piles of rubble held together by gravity. Most asteroids aren't quite massive enough to have achieved a spherical shape and instead are irregular, often resembling a lumpy potato. The asteroid 216 Kleopatra resembles a dog bone.



Asteroid orbits



Not all of the asteroids in our Solar System are found in the asteroid belt. Some asteroids pass near other planets, including Earth. Asteroids that come close to Earth are called Near Earth Objects. The planet Jupiter even shares its orbit around the Sun with two groups of asteroids, which are called Trojans.  If something slows an asteroid, it may "fall" towards the Sun, towards Mars, or towards Jupiter. As both Jupiter and Mars move past the asteroids in their orbits, they may be pulled slightly towards those huge bodies in their orbits. In fact, Phobos and Diemos, the two tiny moons of Mars, may be captured asteroids. Some scientists believe that the asteroid belt was made when a planet that was there exploded or collided with something else and broke up. Other scientists believe that the material making the asteroids never came together into a planet at all.



Craters



Craters are nicknamed “Snowman” because they look just like a snowman! They are on Vesta, one of the largest asteroids in the asteroid belt.



Many impact craters are found on the Earth’s surface, although they can be harder to detect. One of the best-known craters on Earth is Meteor Crater, near Winslow, Arizona. The crater was created instantly when a 50-meter (164-foot), 150,000-ton meteorite slammed into the desert about 50,000 years ago. Meteor Crater is 1.2 kilometers (0.75 miles) in diameter and 175 meters (575 feet) deep.



Impact craters are found on most of the solar system’s rocky planets and moons. The so-called “gas giants” of the solar system—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—don’t have craters. These planets are made up almost entirely of gases, so there is no hard surface for a meteor to impact. Meteors entering the atmosphere of a gas giant simply break up.



Cratering is a rare occurrence in the solar system today. Planets, moons, comets, and other celestial bodies have fairly stable orbits that do not interact with each other. Meteors do collide with planets—including Earth—every day. However, most of these meteors are the size of a speck of dust and do not cause any cratering. Most meteors burn up in the atmosphere as “shooting stars” before ever colliding with the surface of the Earth.



Ceres 



By far the largest object in the asteroid belt is Ceres. Made mostly of rock is Ceres. Made mostly of rock and ice, it was the first asteroid ever discovered. It has since been classed as a Dwarf Planet, because it is more like a planet than its neighbours in the main asteroid belt.



Ceres takes 1,682 Earth days, or 4.6 Earth years, to make one trip around the sun. As Ceres orbits the sun, it completes one rotation every 9 hours, making its day length one of the shortest in the solar system.



Ceres' axis of rotation is tilted just 4 degrees with respect to the plane of its orbit around the sun. That means it spins nearly perfectly upright and doesn't experience seasons like other more tilted planets do.



Ceres formed along with the rest of the solar system about 4.5 billion years ago when gravity pulled swirling gas and dust in to become a small dwarf planet. Scientists describe Ceres as an "embryonic planet," which means it started to form but didn't quite finish. Nearby Jupiter's strong gravity prevented it from becoming a fully formed planet. About 4 billion years ago, Ceres settled into its current location among the leftover pieces of planetary formation in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.



 



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Why it is important to explore Mars?



Scientists have always longed to explore Mars. They believe that in the past the Red Planet could have been far warmer and wetter than it is now. There may once have even been life on Mars, and tiny life forms, such as bacteria, could live on the planet today. Many spacecraft have already visited Mars and in the future humans will too.



Understanding whether life existed elsewhere in the Universe beyond Earth is a fundamental question of humankind. Mars is an excellent place to investigate this question because it is the most similar planet to Earth in the Solar System. Evidence suggests that Mars was once full of water, warmer and had a thicker atmosphere, offering a potentially habitable environment.



While life arose and evolved on Earth, Mars experienced serious climate change. Planetary geologists can study rocks, sediments and soils for clues to uncover the history of the surface. Scientists are interested in the history of water on Mars to understand how life could have survived. Volcanoes, craters from meteoroid impacts, signs of atmospheric or photochemical effects and geophysical processes all carry aspects of Mars’ history.



Samples of the atmosphere could reveal crucial details on its formation and evolution, and also why Mars has less atmosphere than Earth.



Water on Mars



In 2015, NASA found the strongest evidence yet that liquid water exists on Mars. This was a hugely exciting discovery because scientists looking for life in our Solar System think that where there is liquid water, there could be life.



Many lines of evidence indicate that water ice is abundant on Mars and it has played a significant role in the planet's geologic history. The present-day inventory of water on Mars can be estimated from spacecraft imagery, remote sensing techniques and surface investigations from landers and rovers. Geologic evidence of past water includes enormous outflow channels carved by floods, ancient river valley networks, deltas, and lakebeds; and the detection of rocks and minerals on the surface that could only have formed in liquid water. Numerous geomorphic features suggest the presence of ground ice (permafrost) and the movement of ice in glaciers, both in the recent past and present. Gullies and slope linear along cliffs and crater walls suggest that flowing water continues to shape the surface of Mars, although to a far lesser degree than in the ancient past.



Curiosity Rover



The photo of the Curiosity rover was taken on the surface of mars. The six-wheeled, car-sized robot lives and works on the planet, operated by a team of scientists back on earth. Their instructions take about 15 minutes to reach Mars! Curiosity has other instruments on board that are designed to learn more about the environment surrounding it. Among those goals is to have a continuous record of weather and radiation observations to determine how suitable the site would be for an eventual human mission.



Curiosity's Radiation Assessment Detector runs for 15 minutes every hour to measure a swath of radiation on the ground and in the atmosphere. Scientists in particular are interested in measuring "secondary rays" or radiation that can generate lower-energy particles after it hits the gas molecules in the atmosphere. Gamma-rays or neutrons generated by this process can cause a risk to humans. Additionally, an ultraviolet sensor stuck on Curiosity's deck tracks radiation continuously.



Human exploration



To reduce the cost and risk for human exploration of Mars, robotic missions can scout ahead and help us to find potential resources and the risks of working on the planet.



Before sending astronauts, we need to understand the hazards. Inevitably, astronauts would bring uncontained martian material when they return to Earth, either on their equipment or on themselves. Understanding any biohazards in the soil and dust will help the planning and preparation of these future missions.



Going to Mars is hard and it is even harder for humans because we would need to pack everything to survive the trip to our neighbouring planet and back. Designing a Mars mission would be easier if we could use resources that are already available locally. Water is a valuable resource for human expeditions, both to consume by astronauts and for fuel. Samples gathered by robots could help to evaluate where potential resources are available for future human explorers and how to exploit them.



 



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How is the weather on Mars?



Like Earth, Mars has seasons. This is because the planets are tilted at similar angles. Different parts of the planet learn towards the Sun at different times during the year, making it warmer or cooler. Mars is an extremely cold planet with an average temperature around minus-80 degrees. Temperatures can dip to minus-225 degrees around the poles. Periods of warmth are brief — highs can reach 70 degrees for a brief time around Noon at the equator in the summer.



There’s no need to worry about rain on Mars — it hasn’t occurred for millions of years. With only trace amounts of water vapor, the planet is a dry and desolate place. Clouds do form, but they are very high in the sky and at the surface, where haze and fog forms as a result of the very steep lapse rates near the ground. Snow, on the other hand, is possible in the very high latitudes, though it’s nothing like the snow here on Earth.



With a very hot equator area and extremely cold poles, there are huge variations in temperature across the planet, which end up driving high wind speeds. Low pressure systems can form and polar fronts develop at the southern end of the polar ice cap, especially at times of seasonal changes.



Sometimes, these winds can lift very fine dust particles to create massive dust storms that envelop much of the planet. Heated dust particles can rise to over 20 miles above the surface. Wind velocities can reach 60 miles per hour or more in these storms.



 



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What is Mars?



Mars is nicknamed the Red Planet because of its rusty soil. Like Earth, it has a rocky surface, polar ice caps, mountains, valleys, and clouds in the sky. However, the fourth planet from the Sun has a far more extreme environment than ours. It is very cold and dry with a thin unbreathable atmosphere. Like Earth, Mars has seasons, polar ice caps, volcanoes, canyons, and weather. It has a very thin atmosphere made of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and argon.



There are signs of ancient floods on Mars, but now water mostly exists in icy dirt and thin clouds. On some Martian hillsides, there is evidence of liquid salty water in the ground.



Scientists want to know if Mars may have had living things in the past. They also want to know if Mars could support life now or in the future



Mars’ moons



Mars has two moons, called Phobos and Deimos, which are much smaller than Earth’s Moon. Their names mean “panic” and “fear”. They were probably asteroids pulled towards Mars by its gravity.



 Phobos is a bit larger than Deimos, and orbits only 3,700 miles (6,000 kilometers) above the Martian surface. No known moon orbits closer to its planet. It whips around Mars three times a day, while the more distant Deimos takes 30 hours for each orbit. Phobos is gradually spiraling inward, drawing about six feet (1.8 meters) closer to the planet each century. Within 50 million years, it will either crash into Mars or break up and form a ring around the planet.



To someone standing on the Mars-facing side of Phobos, Mars would take up a large part of the sky. And people may one day do just that. Scientists have discussed the possibility of using one of the Martian moons as a base from which astronauts could observe the Red Planet and launch robots to its surface, while shielded by miles of rock from cosmic rays and solar radiation for nearly two-thirds of every orbit.



Like Earth's Moon, Phobos and Deimos always present the same face to their planet. Both are lumpy, heavily-cratered and covered in dust and loose rocks. They are among the darker objects in the solar system. The moons appear to be made of carbon-rich rock mixed with ice and may be captured asteroids.



Olympus Mons



Towering high above the Martian landscape is Olympus Mons. It is the largest volcano in our Solar System and nearly three times as high as Mount Everest!



Olympus Mons holds the title for tallest mountain in the solar system, and it is the second tallest mountain in the Universe. It likely became so large because Mars does not have tectonic plates. Therefore, the lava was likely able to flow outwards from a hotspot in the same place for quite a long time with no crust shifts to impede it.



The volcano is located in Mars's western hemisphere near the uplifted Tharsis bulge region. Since Mars is a small planet, and the slopes of Olympus Mons are so gradual, the edge of the volcano cannot be seen as it extends further than the horizon. Olympus Mons is so tall that it is often the only thing visibly protruding through Mars's massive dust storms.



Valles Marineris



 Valles Marineris is a 4,000 km (2500 mile) crack across the surface of Mars, at parts 7 km (4 miles) deep. It is a system of canyons, including the vast Coprates Chasma. Measuring the length of the entire United States, Mars’ Valles Marineris—Mariner Valley—is an enormous canyon that makes our Grand Canyon appear minuscule. Located along Mars’ equator, Valles Marineris spans one-fifth of the entire circumference of the planet. With depths of up to 4 miles and widths reaching up to 120 miles, the 2,500-mile-long canyon system is one of the largest in the entire Solar System. To put things into perspective, the Grand Canyon is a fraction of the size, running 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and with a depth of only up to a little over a mile.



 



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