© © NASA Photo

People love mysterious space stories. And mysterious objects on Mars are traditionally at the top of cosmic curiosity. There, rock formations become faces, shadows become UFO landing sites, and pieces from a Mars rover become Donald Trump's head.

6. “The fish of my dreams.”

There is a fish rock on Mars, but there are no fish there. Curiosity caught this “catch” on its camera lens, and ufologists and proponents of the theory of the existence of Martians were delighted. But this is just a game of stone shapes and lighting. NASA says this about possible fossilized bones and animals on Mars: “Mars probably never had enough oxygen in the atmosphere to support complex organisms.”

7. Vortex.

A strange vortex appears in this Martian landscape captured by another NASA rover, Opportunity, in 2016. This is actually a real dust devil, just like on Earth. Martian dust devils alone can be up to 50 times wider and up to 10 times higher than those on Earth.

8. Donut.

It didn't exist, and then it appeared. A donut-shaped object appeared rather unexpectedly in a series of before-and-after images in Opportunity images. Some people thought it was an alien formation, but NASA announced that the sudden appearance of the donut was due to Opportunity dislodging a rock by driving over it. In general, there is no fast food on Mars.

9. Waffle.

The donut is not the only “food” formation on the red planet. An image from Mars orbit in late 2014 showed a strange, wafer-shaped island. The 1.2-mile "waffle" is located in an area of ​​lava flows. This is not evidence of giant wafers on Mars, but it does look a lot like a lava formation.

10. Bling.

If something shines somewhere, it already attracts attention. If something sparkles on Mars, these are mysterious signals. In 2012, Curiosity spotted a bright, shiny object in the faded Martian soil. To understand the scale: the entire image covers an area of ​​only 4 centimeters across. NASA scientists have confirmed that this shine is just some kind of quartz or something like that.

11. Spoon.

See the spoon in the center of the image? A long arm stretched out over the landscape, casting a shadow below? Is this proof that some giant chef is using this tool to make the donuts and waffles mentioned above? Unfortunately no. Mars does not have the same strong gravity as Earth, so such fragile rock formations can exist for a long time without collapsing under their own weight.

12. Metal structure.

Mars searchers have edited an image taken by Curiosity in early 2013 to highlight what appears to be a piece of metal. The likely explanation is much less impressive than a metal racer or an iron monster. The object is likely part of a meteorite or the result of a trick of light.

13. Bright light on the horizon of Mars.

The same Curiosity sent this curious photo in 2014, showing light on the horizon of Mars. The image excited UFO fans, who speculated that it could be evidence of alien activity.

NASA, as is usual with scientists, disappointed them by explaining that all the pictures with the mysterious “lighthouse” were taken with one camera. Other lenses did not reflect this point. Perhaps a cosmic particle hit the camera’s matrix, causing part of the sensor to “blind” and a white spot to appear on the pictures.

14. Mini meteorite.

In October 2016, Curiosity discovered a small iron meteorite that was initially thought to be a strange rock. The stone looks small, about the size of a palm, but a close-up showed its intricate surface. The researchers called it a “stone egg” and were wrong.

A camera for micro-imaging (ChemCam: Remote Micro-Imager), which is equipped with the rover, was pointed at the egg. And they determined the approximate composition. According to scientists from the University of Arizona (Arizona State University), the egg consists of an alloy of nickel and iron.

15. Strange deep hole.

NASA has not given a definitive answer about this strange circular pit captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2017. But, most likely, this is a crater formed due to a meteorite impact. The hole is located near the planet's south pole. At the end of summer, due to the short daylight hours, the pit stands out sharply from the surrounding landscape due to the play of light and shadow.

16. Female statue?

The Spirit rover took this image in 2007, showing a view of rock formations on the surface of Mars. One of them stood out. It looked like Bigfoot. And female.

17. Another woman on Mars.

As you already understand, there is no shortage of women on Mars. That is, there are two of them, at least. This image from Curiosity excited alien theorists in early 2015. The small object inside the red circle looks like a figurine of a lady in a dress. All you need to see it is a developed imagination.

18. A monster crab crawls on Mars.

Again the Curiosity image from July 2015. It was not noticed for a long time until a tiny fragment of the image was enlarged in one group on Facebook. And what looked like a strange crab-like monster appeared, lurking in the shadows. He is also very similar to Cthulhu. In any case, that’s what those who saw Cthulhu say. And these guys won’t lie again.

Of course, the crab on Mars is just a play of light and shadow on the rock. But it's so boring...

19. The face of an ancient god.

On the left is a cropped view of an image from the Opportunity rover. On the right is a Neo-Assyrian goddess statue from the British Museum. Notice the similarities? And some UFO fans too. As with all the mysteries of Mars that look like objects from Earth, it is a combination of human imagination and the play of light, and not a greeting from an extraterrestrial civilization with a penchant for stone carving.

20. Kissing face.

As we already know, there are many women on Mars. Therefore, it is no coincidence that this man seems to stretch out his lips in a kind of kiss. This stone was found in a photo from Curiosity by fans of the habitable Mars theory at the end of 2016.

21. How to find a “face” on Mars.

In a short time and with a minimum of effort, anyone can find rock formations that look like human or alien faces on Mars. Here are two "faces" with their features indicated. This image is from Curiosity, which captured this landscape in late 2016.

All it takes is imagination to harness the power of pareidolia, a phenomenon that causes people to see faces and shapes in inanimate objects.

August 6, 2012 back from the Curiosity rover after an eight-month journey. The device covered 567 million kilometers on its way to the Red Planet.

During this time, the Curiosity rover made discoveries that indicate the existence of favorable conditions for the life of microbes billions of years ago, did countless jobs with different instruments, drilled, fired lasers, took photographs, and sent 468,926 images to Earth.

Images from the Curiosity rover and news from the Red Planet over the past few years.

2. From a distance, the surface of Mars appears reddish-red due to the red dust contained in the atmosphere. Up close, the color is yellowish-brown with an admixture of gold, brown, reddish-brown and even green, depending on the color of the planet’s minerals. In ancient times, people easily distinguished Mars from other planets, and also associated it with war and created all sorts of legends. The Egyptians called Mars "Har Decher", which meant "red". (Photo by JPL-Caltech | MSSS | NASA):

3. The Curiosity rover loves to take selfies. How does he do this, since there is no one to remove him from the side?

The rover has four color cameras, all of them with a different set of optics, but only one of them is suitable for . The automatic arm, called MAHLI, has 5 degrees of freedom, which gives the camera significant flexibility and allows it to “fly” the Mars rover from all sides. The movement of this camera arm is controlled by a specialist on Earth. The main task is to follow a certain sequence of movements of the automatic arm so that the camera can take a sufficient number of pictures for subsequent stitching of the panorama. The scenario for preparing each such selfie is first tested on Earth on a special test module called Maggie. (NASA Photo):

4. Martian sunset, April 15, 2015. At noon, the sky of Mars is yellow-orange. The reason for such differences from the colors of the earth's sky is the properties of the thin, rarefied atmosphere of Mars containing suspended dust. On Mars, Rayleigh scattering of rays (which on Earth is the cause of the blue color of the sky) plays a minor role, its effect is weak, but appears in the form of a blue glow at sunrise and sunset, when the light passes through a thicker layer of air. (Photo by JPL-Caltech | MSSS | Texas A&M Univ via Getty | NASA):

5. Wheels of the Mars rover September 9, 2012. (Photo by JPL-Caltech | Malin Space Science Systems | NASA):

6. And this is a photo taken on April 18, 2016. You can see how worn out the hard worker’s “shoes” are. From August 2012 to January last year, the Curiosity rover traveled 15.26 km. (Photo by JPL-Caltech MSSS | NASA):

7. We continue to look at pictures of the Curiosity rover. The Namib Dune is an area of ​​dark sand consisting of dunes northwest of Mount Sharp. (Photo by JPL-Caltech | NASA):

8. Two thirds of the surface of Mars are occupied by light areas called continents, about a third are dark areas called seas. And this is the base of Mount Sharp.

Sharp is a Martian mountain located in Gale Crater. The height of the mountain is about 5 kilometers. On Mars there is also the highest mountain in the solar system - the extinct Olympus volcano with a height of 26 km. The diameter of Olympus is about 540 km. (Photo by JPL-Caltech | MSSS | NASA):

9. Photo from the orbiter, the rover is visible here. (Photo by JPL-Caltech | Univ. of Arizona | NASA):

10. How was this unusual Ireson hill formed on Mars? His story has become the subject of research. Its shape and two-color structure make it one of the most unusual hills that the robotic rover has passed by. It reaches a height of about 5 meters, and the size of its base is about 15 meters. (Photo by JPL-Caltech | MSSS | NASA0:

11. This is what the “traces” of the rover on Mars look like. (Photo by JPL-Caltech | NASA):

12. The hemispheres of Mars differ quite greatly in the nature of their surface. In the southern hemisphere, the surface is 1-2 km above average and is densely dotted with craters. This part of Mars resembles the lunar continents. In the north, most of the surface is below average, there are few craters and the bulk is relatively smooth plains, probably formed as a result of lava flooding and erosion. (Photo by JPL-Caltech | MSSS | NASA):

13. Another masterful selfie. (Photo: JPL-Caltech | MSSS | NASA):

14. In the foreground, about three kilometers from the rover, is a long ridge replete with iron oxide. (Photo by JPL-Caltech | MSSS | NASA):

15. A look at the path taken by the rover, February 9, 2014. (Photo by JPL-Caltech | MSSS | NASA):

16. The hole drilled by the Curiosity rover. This color of the rock beneath the red surface is not immediately obvious. The rover's drill is capable of making holes with a diameter of 1.6 cm and a depth of 5 cm in stone. Samples extracted by the manipulator can also be examined by the SAM and CheMin instruments located in the front part of the rover body. (Photo by JPL-Caltech | MSSS | NASA):

17. Another selfie, the most recent, taken on January 23, 2018. (Photo by NASA | JPL-Caltech | MSSS):

Despite the fact that the rovers did not record the existence of life, scientists cannot stop thinking that there is life on Mars. Since there has not yet been a single expedition to the planet, scientists cannot accurately answer this question.

By examining and analyzing photographs of the surface taken by the rover in detail, they find images, such as a face on Mars, and make some guesses.

In the northern hemisphere of Mars is the region of Cydonia, famous for the legend “The Face on Mars.”

The region is named after the polis of the same name in Ancient Greece. It is conventionally divided into three zones:

Cydonia Labyrinthus with intersecting valleys;
the hilly Cydonia of Collisa;
zone of table mountains with a flat top and steep slopes.

The Kydonia area was first photographed on July 25, 1976 by the Viking 1 spacecraft. There were 18 NASA images of Mars, but only 5 of them were suitable for study.

Martian face

In 1976, cameras at the Viking 1 station recorded a strange pattern on the ground in the area of ​​Kydonia between the Bamberg and Arandus craters, resembling a human face.

At that time, many ufologists associated the presence of this image, called the “Martian Sphinx,” with an ancient civilization that existed in the past on Mars.

Kydonia - Martian face (photo from open sources)

After 25 years, we managed to put an end to the controversy surrounding this object. In clearer photographs taken in 2001 by the Mars Global Surveyor, the face on Mars was missing.

Scientists attribute the appearance of the Sphinx image to an optical illusion and the low resolution of the camera of that time.

Bottle on Mars

In 2017, another, no less interesting object was found on Mars.

Ufologist Thomas Miller discovered a bottle in the photograph, presumably a beer bottle.

He could make out a stopper and a label with red, green and white elements.

Miller noted that there's no way to verify whether it's actually a beer bottle, but if it is, it would be nice to "sit down and have a beer with the Martians."

Experienced ufologists refuted Miller's point of view.

Strange objects have been found more than once in photographs of Mars - a large spoon, a donut, a wafer, a statue of a woman.

According to them, the bottle in the photo is actually a fragment of rock or an ordinary stone. An optical illusion resulting from the play of light and shadow turned this stone into a bottle.

Woman Warrior Statue

In one of NASA's images of Mars, amateur astronomer Joe White discovered a rock whose shape resembles a statue of a female warrior done in an "Egyptian artistic style."

Judging by the head, the statue is large.

According to ufologists, the fact of the presence of such a statue suggests that in the distant past there was a highly developed civilization on Mars with a strong army, and its representatives were similar to people.

Ancient amphora

UFOlogist Scott Waring found an ancient amphora on Mars.

In the photographs you can see an object similar to an ancient wine vessel, half immersed in sand.

If you look closely, it looks more like a ceramic vase without handles than an amphora.

Waring claims that NASA experts discolored the photographs so that the stones could not be distinguished from artifacts.

According to him, the sandy desert on Mars is similar to any sandy desert on Earth and has a variety of shades of color other than brown and orange.

Spaceship Graveyard

After carefully examining images of the Red Planet taken by the Curiosity rover, ufologists discovered unusual craters that are likely traces of spacecraft.

They pointed out the similarity of these craters with those discovered on the Moon, the origin of which also could not be explained.

According to one version, the caves found on Mars were workshops. In them, alien spaceships underwent maintenance.

Some ufologists believe that these caves could have been cosmodromes on which ships with aliens landed (or are still landing).

According to the third version, these craters are a cemetery for flying saucers. In the craters, strange tubes are visible emerging from the depression, resembling the remains of spaceships.

Morse code

In 2016, NASA scientists studying NASA images from Mars saw dunes that looked like dots and dashes in Morse code. The photographs were taken by the HiRISE camera installed on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Veronica Bray, a famous planetary scientist, deciphered the inscription.

The Martians, if they exist, left the following message for the earthlings: “NEE NED ZB 6TNN DEIDEDH SIEFI EBEEE SSIEI ESEE SEEE!!”

Despite the fact that some syllables and words are in the English language, the meaning of the message without decoding will remain unknown.
Elements of Morse code have already been found on Mars. But on the Hagal dune they are especially clearly visible.

Scientists explain their occurrence by winds. Moreover, “dots” and “dashes” were formed in different ways. “The dashes were formed as a result of the influence of bidirectional winds. The “dots” appeared at a point in time when the process of drawing the “dash” was interrupted by something.

Morse code on Mars (photo from open sources)

UFO

Ufologists at the University of Arizona, after analyzing images of Mars, discovered a strange object - a five-meter hole, which may be the crash site of a ship.

During the scientific examination, it turned out that the UFO crash on Mars occurred within the last 10 years, since there is no such hole in the 2008 photographs.

The black color around the hole suggests that the spacecraft exploded when it hit a Martian hillside.

One might assume that this hole was the result of a meteorite falling. But in this case, there would be fragments of soil nearby, crushed during the collision.

A long black trail stretches from the hole, probably caused by the fall. Presumably its length is 1 kilometer.

Experts claim that it was an alien spaceship. As a result, they died or managed to survive and went looking for help.

Despite the heated scientific debate surrounding the hole, NASA experts do not explain the origin of this Martian object.

Ufologists are sure that NASA knows about the existence of aliens, but they hide it from people.

City

Many science fiction writers are interested in the topic of life on Mars. In their works they describe entire Martian cities. Perhaps such cities are not just fiction. There is a hypothesis that they existed on Mars in the past.

For the first time, physics professor John Brandenburg spoke about the existence of a Martian civilization that probably died as a result of a nuclear disaster.

As proof, the scientist cited data on the high content of radioactive substances on the planet that could have arisen after a nuclear explosion.

In support of the theory about the existence of ancient Martians, in 2016, ruins of a city were discovered in photographs of the poles.

The discovery of the ancient city belongs to ufology fan Sandra Andrade, who found it on the mapping of the planet’s surface in the Google Eath service.

The city on Mars stretches for hundreds of kilometers and consists of numerous buildings, probably destroyed by an avalanche, mudflow or as a result of a nuclear explosion.

The buildings are arranged in lines 5 km long, resembling streets. Buildings reach a height of 800 meters, the average length of buildings is 630 meters.

According to Scott Waring, approximately 500 thousand people could live in the city.

Experienced ufologists believe that making such a statement based on NASA orbital images from Mars, which are of insufficient quality, is erroneous.

According to Sandra Andrade, part of the image could have been erased by NASA specialists to keep secret the fact of the existence of living organisms on Mars.

Rurik's grave

In 2014, independent researchers discovered a cross and a slab protruding from the surface in the photographs. Two objects similar to skulls are visible nearby.

The resemblance to a human skull is great - the cavity of the nose and eye sockets are visible. The skulls on Mars immediately gave researchers the idea of ​​a grave.

But if there are alien burials on Mars, this means that they were on Mars relatively recently, so they were not completely destroyed.

V.A. Chudinov, who was deciphering syllabic and alphabetic writing, enlarged the image, saw a head on the cross and concluded that this was the crucifixion of Christ.

That is, it is not Christ who is depicted on the cross, but Rurik.

“Isn’t Rurik buried here?” - asks Chudinov.

Buddha image

Researcher Scott Waring, trying to find signs of extraterrestrial life forms, saw an 8-kilometer image of the head of Buddha on the surface of Mars.

The photograph shows the profile of a bald man with full cheeks, distinct eyes, ears, and chin.

Scott Waring claims that his discovery is proof of the theory about the influence of aliens on the culture of the inhabitants of our planet.

Since the first rover Opportunity landed on Mars in 2004, scientists, ufologists and space enthusiasts have studied many images.

Today, photographs of the surface of Mars are freely available on the Internet, so anyone can find the inexplicable on Mars.

You can speculate as much as you like by studying these photographs. Until the first man landed on Mars, the question of the existence of life on the Red Planet remains open.

On August 7, 2012, Curiosity, a complex 900-kilogram rover equipped with the latest technology, began operating on the surface of Mars. In the future, Curiosity may become one of the most successful space missions: the scientific equipment on board is designed to study in detail the geological history of Mars and shed light on the question of life on this still mysterious planet. Despite the fact that the main work of the device will end after 668 Martian days, in total Curiosity is capable of operating for at least 14 years

Typical Martian landscape during the day

Part of the Gale Crater mosaic

Curiosity wheel track on the sand of Mars

Sand, dust and stone called Burwash. The picture was taken from a distance of 11.5 cm from the stone, the dimensions of the picture are 7.6 by 5.7 cm

Sand drift, from the slope of which Curiosity took soil samples. On the left we see a raw image of the dune, showing what it looks like on Mars, where the sky often has a reddish tint due to the large amount of dust. On the right, the image has been processed to show what the same area would look like on Earth. The size of the round stone above the center of the image is about 20 cm

“Blueberries” are small spherical inclusions in the Martian soil. The balls are about 3 mm in size, they contain a large amount of red iron ore, which is formed in the presence of water

The photo shows the bottom of the vehicle, all six wheels and the marks left by them. In the foreground are two pairs of black and white HAZCAM navigation cameras

Curiosity has just climbed the Rocknest dune to take the first soil samples of the Red Planet. The image was taken on October 3, 2012, on the 57th day of operation of the device

The MAHLI camera looks at Curiosity's wheel.

Morning on Mars

Dark gray Martian rock. The image was taken by a MAHLI camera from a distance of 27 cm. The area of ​​the image is 16 by 12 cm, and the resolution is 105 microns per pixel. Despite its impressive clarity, scientists have been unable to resolve the granules or crystals that make up the stone.

The “Pyramid” on Mars is a rock called Jake Matijevic. The image was received on September 21, 2012.

Studying the "Pyramid" at close range. Chemical analysis of the stone showed that it is rich in alkali metals, as well as halogens - chlorine and bromine. Judging by the spectrum, this stone is a mosaic of individual grains of minerals, including pyroxene, feldspar and olivine. In general, the composition of the stone is very atypical for Martian rocks

Color image of a "pyramid" on Mars. The image has been white-balanced to reveal differences in the inclusions on the stone.

On the 55th day of stay on Mars. Curiosity's focus is on a sandy deposit called Rocknest, from the slope of which the rover took its first soil samples.

Remains of an ancient stream bed on Mars. The fact that water once flowed in this place is evidenced by many pieces of gravel and rocks that have a smooth round shape. In addition, the size of some of these pebbles suggests that they could only have been transported by a stream of water. The rock, chipped like a broken sidewalk, is of sedimentary origin

Looking back on the journey

Evening on Mars. The image was taken on day 49 of Curiosity's operation.

The Martian stone, which received the name Et-Then from scientists. The image was taken by the MAHLI camera (Mars Hand Lens Imager) on October 29, 2012, on the 82nd day of Curiosity’s stay on the Red Planet. The rock was photographed from a distance of 40 cm, the width of the image is only 25 cm. Et-Zen was discovered near the left front wheel of the device when Curiosity was preparing to take soil samples in the town of Rocknest

Rocks on Mars. Mosaic obtained by the MAHLI camera on the 76th day of Curiosity's stay on the Mysterious Planet

Impact crater measuring about three kilometers

The surface of Mars is a dry and barren wasteland, covered with old volcanoes and craters.

Dunes through the eyes of Mars Odyssey

Photos show it can be hidden by a single sandstorm, hiding it from sight for days. Despite its formidable conditions, Mars is better studied by scientists than any other world in the solar system, except our own, of course.

Since the planet has almost the same tilt as Earth, and it has an atmosphere, it means there are seasons. The surface temperature is about -40 degrees Celsius, but at the equator it can reach +20. On the surface of the planet there are traces of water, and relief features formed by water.

Scenery

Let's take a closer look at the surface of Mars, information provided by numerous orbiters, as well as rovers, allows us to fully understand what the red planet is like. The ultra-clear images show dry, rocky terrain covered in fine red dust.

Red dust is actually iron oxide. Everything from the ground to small stones and rocks is covered with this dust.

Since there is no water or confirmed tectonic activity on Mars, its geological features remain virtually unchanged. Compared to the surface of the Earth, which experiences constant changes associated with water erosion and tectonic activity.

Surface of Mars video

The landscape of Mars consists of a variety of geological structures. It is home to plants known throughout the solar system. That's not all. The most famous canyon in the solar system is Valles Marineris, also located on the surface of the Red Planet.

Look at the pictures from the Mars rovers, which show many details that are not visible from orbit.

If you want to look at Mars online, then

Surface photo

The images below are from Curiosity, the rover currently actively exploring the red planet.

To view in full screen mode, click on the button at the top right.

Panorama transmitted by the Curiosity rover

This panorama represents a section of Gale Crater where Curiosity is conducting its research. The high hill in the center is Mount Sharp, to the right of it you can see the ring rim of the crater in the haze.

To view in full size, save the image to your computer!

These photographs of the surface of Mars are from 2014 and, in fact, are the most recent at the moment.

Among all the features of the landscape of Mars, perhaps the most widely publicized are the mesas of Cydonia. Early photographs of the Sedonia region showed a hill shaped like a “human face”. However, later images, with higher resolution, showed us an ordinary hill.

Planet sizes

Mars is a pretty small world. Its radius is half that of Earth, and it has a mass that is less than one tenth of ours.

Dunes, MRO image

More about Mars: the planet's surface consists mainly of basalt, covered with a thin layer of dust and iron oxide, which has the consistency of talc. Iron oxide (rust, as it is commonly called) gives the planet its characteristic red hue.

Volcanoes

In ancient times, volcanoes erupted continuously on the planet for millions of years. Because Mars does not have plate tectonics, huge volcanic mountains have formed. Olympus Mons was formed in a similar way and is the largest mountain in the solar system. It is three times higher than Everest. Such volcanic activity may also partly explain the deepest valley in the solar system. Valles Marineris is believed to have been formed by the breakdown of material between two points on the surface of Mars.

Craters

Animation showing changes around a crater in the Northern Hemisphere

There are many impact craters on Mars. Most of these craters remain untouched because there are no forces on the planet capable of destroying them. The planet lacks wind, rain and plate tectonics that cause erosion on Earth. The atmosphere is much thinner than that of the Earth, so even small meteorites are able to reach the ground.

The current surface of Mars is very different from what it was billions of years ago. Orbiter data has shown that there are many minerals and signs of erosion on the planet that indicate the presence of liquid water in the past. It is possible that small oceans and long rivers once completed the landscape. The last remnants of this water were trapped underground in the form of ice.

Total number of craters

There are hundreds of thousands of craters on Mars, of which 43,000 are larger than 5 kilometers in diameter. Hundreds of them were named after scientists or famous astronomers. Craters less than 60 km across have been named after cities on Earth.

The most famous is Hellas Basin. It measures 2,100 km across and is up to 9 km deep. It is surrounded by emissions that stretch 4,000 km from the center.

Cratering

Most of the craters on Mars were likely formed during the late "heavy bombardment" period of our solar system, which occurred approximately 4.1 to 3.8 billion years ago. During this period, a large number of craters formed on all celestial bodies in the Solar System. Evidence for this event comes from studies of lunar samples, which have shown that most rocks were created during this time interval. Scientists cannot agree on the reasons for this bombing. According to the theory, the gas giant's orbit changed and, as a result, the orbits of objects in the main asteroid belt and the Kuiper belt became more eccentric, reaching the orbits of the terrestrial planets.