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Of the many puzzling crater forms seen on rocky bodies throughout the Solar System,
the recurring pattern of crater chains on planets, moons and asteroids
is a puzzle that demands a willingness to explore new theoretical possibilities.
The standard story of craters formed either by impacts or by volcanism
will never account for many of the remarkable crater chains observed to date.
The latest images released from NASA's Dawn mission to the dwarf planet Ceres
underscores the depth of the mystery for planetary scientists.
As we look at this image of the terrain in Dantu crater on Ceres,
from a distance we see what appeared to be fractures
or networks of channels in the crater floor.
However, upon closer examination it appears that most,
if not all of the channels are composed of chains of craters.
Even more dramatic crater chains can be seen in this image
from the southern mid-latitudes of the planet.
A Dawn science team member says of the crater chains:
"Why [the groves and troughs] are so prominent is not yet understood,
but they are probably related to the complex crustal structure of Ceres."
Ceres is not the first body in the solar system to display
such puzzling networks of channels and parallel crater chains.
These features run in virtually every direction on the Martian moon Phobos.
The official NASA web page on the moon says of the image on your screen:
"The linear features and crater chains from lower left to upper right are believed
to be results of the impact which formed Stickney crater."
However, Stickney crater is more than 5.6 miles (9km) in diameter,
almost half the diameter of the moon.
The first problem for planetary scientist is that any impact capable of creating
such a massive crater probably should have destroyed the moon.
An additional problem is the suggestion that
the crater chains were either a product of fracturing,
or were created by debris from the theoretical impact.
As discussed at length in the feature-length documentary film,
'The Lightning-Scarred Planet Mars',
experiments with electrical discharges routinely produced
parallel crater chains and channels,
such as those seen on your screen in experiments by D.Z. Parker.
Planetary scientists have generally only entertained two competing hypotheses
for crater chains on various rocky bodies:
surface collapse or impacts from above.
However, we must consider the instances when the evidence
appears to categorically exclude both of these hypotheses.
On your screen is an image of a dramatic crater chain on Jupiter's moon Ganymede.
The official NASA web page on Ganymede states of this image:
"This chain of 13 craters probably formed by a comet which was pulled into pieces
by Jupiter's gravity as it passed too close to the planet.
Soon after this breakup, the 13 fragments crashed onto Ganymede in rapid succession."
"The Enki craters formed across the sharp boundary
between areas of bright terrain and dark terrain,
delimited by a thin trough running diagonally across the center of this image.
The ejecta deposit surrounding the craters appear very bright on the bright terrain.
"Even though all the craters formed nearly simultaneously,
it is difficult to discern any ejecta deposit on the dark terrain.
This may be because the impacts excavated and mixed dark material into the ejecta
and the resulting mix is not apparent against the dark background."
What is the probability of an impacting body disintegrating
then forming a pristinely graded and spaced line of fragments
to produce the chain of overlapping circular craters?
The NASA explanation for this feature
recognizes just one of the problems with this hypothesis:
the floors of the craters are surprisingly cleanly excavate, with no ejecta evident.
This fact also contradicts the notion that
a collapsed lavatube may have caused the crater chain
since the remains of the tubes roof are not inside the craters.
However, all of the visible features of the craters, including the overlapping,
the central peaks, the pinched-up rims,
and the cleanly excavated floors are the common traits of craters
produced in laboratory experiments with electrical discharges.
Further experimental support for the electrical nature of crater chains
can be found in amateur astronomer Brian J. Ford's 1965 paper,
'Origin of the Lunar Craters'
published in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society.
Ford wrote: "The occurrence of a crater on the rim of a larger specimen
occurs much more frequently on the Moon than by statistical accident.
This can be seen in some crater chains too."
In a plasma discharge experiment,
Ford found his experimental specimen showed a similar occurrence,
probably due to a secondary discharge alighting on the rim of a crater just formed.
He wrote: "Chains of craters such as that seen in Clavius
may be maybe due to a similar successive discharge.
Almost invariably, these show a progressive lessening of diameter
which cannot be accounted for by alternative means."
"It is clear that craters produced by an electrical discharge show central peaks
in the ratio of approximately 1:3 in the small craters,
or nearer 50:50 where the largest craters are concerned.
This is approximate to the pattern seen on the Moon,
and so this peculiar occurrence can be explained for the first time."
Let us also consider, the circularity of the craters in some crater chains
as seen with this example on the Moon.
A longstanding puzzle for lunar investigators
is that over 90% of all circular craters on the Moon
require that an object strike the surface from directly above.
Planetary scientists then propose that hypervelocity impacts cause explosions
that occur above the ground producing circular craters.
However, it is surely no coincidence that electric arcs
always strike the surface from directly above and can produce crater chains
as seen in this demonstration by experimentalist Billy Yelverton.
Mysterious crater chains are further testimony
that the surfaces of planets, moons, and other rocky bodies
have not been shaped by gradual processes over billions of years
but were globally scarred in electromagnetic events.
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