The Penn State third year PhD student in astronomy and astrophysics, and colleagues, posit that there was an up-to-10 million year warming period on Mars when atmosphere was filled with carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
The resulting water produced cut the red planet’s surface in ways that astronomers have long considered. “With the cycling hypothesis, you get these long periods of warmth that give you sufficient time to form all the different Martian valley networks,” said Batalha.
The Nittany Lion researchers dismiss an earlier that asteroid impacts warmed the planet, as occurring over too short a time period to create enough water. However, the scientists also said more study is necessary to resolve is sufficient hydrogen and carbon dioxide could have been produced to warm Mars.
Batalha’s research comprises planetary science study of Mars, using astrobiology to explore early Earth biosignatures, and workd on transiting exoplanet simulations for the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope (Webb).