The four geological Ages of Mars. The history of the planet Mars can be divided into four Ages spanning millions and even billions of years. . The Pre-Noachian (top left) lasted from when the planet formed and when large amounts of liquid water 💧 existed on its surface. It lasted for about 400 million years from 4.5 to 4.1 billion years. . The Noachian Era lasted for about the same time from 4.1 to 3.7 billion years ago. It was characterized by heavy bombardment ☄️ that left many craters on its surface (top right). In addition there was quite a bit of volcanism (bottom left) as well. . The Hesperian lasted for about 800 million years from 3.7 to 2.9 billion years ago. During the Hesperian, Mars experienced continuous volcanism that resulted in atmospheric sulfur. This sulfur fell back onto the surface, and thus the age is characterized by extensive sulfur deposits. . The current Amazonian is the longest from 2.9 billion years ago to the present (bottom right). It is characterized by more subtle changes such as those caused by wind 💨 and erosion. . Credit: NASA / public domain, ESO/MKornmesser / CC BY-SA 4.0 and NASA/JPL-Caltech/UofA / public domain. . [⭐️⭐️⭐️] Interested in becoming a planetary geologist? Make sure to take our course on our website to get a head start. DM for more information or questions. . #mars #theredplanet #craters #geological #noachian #wateronmars #nasa #olympusmons #vallesmarineris #volcanism https://www.instagram.com/p/B87qGuOJ4Z5/?igshid=1qczu5ptl5tgy