Is Mars missing a moon? Astronomer says Nerio might have created a strange bulge
Mars terrain
Mars has some unique characteristics, and one of the most peculiar features is its odd shape. Unlike other planets in the solar system, it has a triaxial shape, which means it is of a different size along three axes. Now an astronomer has tried to explain why this is so. He has hypothesised that Mars is missing a moon it once likely had.
Michael Efroimsky talks about the theory in a paper published on the arXiv preprint server.
Mars also hosts some impressive geographical features, such as the tallest mountains in the solar system and the biggest canyon. The Tharsis bulge, situated near the planet's equator, is another thing that has stumped scientists. It is a unique highland that bulges oddly out of the surface. The Tharsis bulge is approximately 5,000 kilometres across, but its origin is not known.
Efroimsky, in his paper, suggests that all of these strange features Mars has are most likely because of a long lost moon. He has named this moon Nerio.
Nerio he says must have exerted an enormous pull on the red planet's surface. This is considering even if it was a third the size of our moon. Since during the early days the surface was still soft, Nerio probably pulled up material due to a synchronous orbit. Years later as it cooled down, the material that was pulled up also settled in the same place, creating a permanent bulge.
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The bulge created equatorial ellipticity, and so the planet has a triaxial shape. Efroimsky also blames the same occurrence for the birth of volcanoes on Mars, making it extremely prone to volcanic activity, and thus the development of highlands on the opposite side of the Tharsis bulge.
So, what happened to Nerio?
If the entire theory is true, then where is Nerio? Talking about what happened to Nerio, Efroimsky suggests that Mars's current two moons - Phobos and Deimos - might have been the remnants of the long-lost moon. He says it might have been hit and destroyed by another large body, leaving behind the two moons.
Another likely scenario might have been that it simply wandered away and left the solar system, mostly because of the pull of some other body.
