Mars Crater-Count Dating Is All Wrong

Planetary scientists have long relied on crater counts to estimate the ages of surfaces in the solar system.  The more craters, the older the surface, has been the assumption.  Now, according to a report in New Scientist, the method is flawed, at least on Mars.  Data from the 2001 Mars Odyssey have shown rays around even small craters, showing that much more material has been ejected from impacts than expected.  Consequently, most of the small craters could be secondaries: i.e., fallback from a single larger impact.  “Massive plumes of ejected rock would have rained down to produce, in some cases, millions of secondary craters,” the article states.  This makes them “virtually useless” for dating surfaces, according to Alfred McEwen (U of Arizona).  Another said, “small craters may not be telling you much.”  Another comment: “This really changes things.”

Every dating method requires making certain assumptions.  Here, a pillar assumption has been toppled, and now they don’t know what to think, except that whatever revised date they come up with must fit the Sacred Parameter, the age of the solar system: 4.5 billion years: no questions asked.