1 / 24

The Terrestrial Planets, Part III

Explore the physical data, atmosphere, surface features, moons, and myths surrounding Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun. Discover its diverse landscape, polar caps, towering volcanoes, and potential signs of water. Unravel the enigmatic tales of canals, the face on Cydonia, and modern-day Martian mysteries.

stephen-ochoa
Download Presentation

The Terrestrial Planets, Part III

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Terrestrial Planets,Part III Mars

  2. MARSThe God of War

  3. Physical Data • Diameter: 6,794 km (0.531 Dearth) • Mass: 6.40x1027 g (0.107 Mearth) • Density: 3.96 g/cm3 • Rotation Period: 24.6 hours • Tilt of Axis: 25o • Surface Temperature: 130-290 K

  4. Physical Data • Orbital Semi-major Axis: 1.524 AU • Orbital Period: 1.881 years • Orbital Inclination: 2o • Orbital Eccentricity: 0.093 • Surface Gravity: 0.38 Earth Gravity

  5. Physical Data • Satellites: 2 • Magnetic Field: no • Surface Pressure: 0.01 Earth’s Pressure

  6. Relatively small core size compared to the mantle Smallest core of all the terrestrial planets compared to the overall volume (~9%) Exact composition of mantle is unknown Mars’ Interior CRUST ( aluminum silicates ) 3393 km 1520 km CORE ( iron + iron sulfide ) MANTLE ( iron-magnesium silicates ? )

  7. Mars’ Atmosphere • Clouds Planet-wide Clouds ( from Hubble) A Cyclonic Event

  8. Mars’ Atmosphere • 95% Carbon Dioxide • 2.7% Nitrogen • 1.6% Argon • 0.6% Carbon Monoxide • 0.15% Oxygen • 0.03% Water Vapor (variable)

  9. Polar Caps: Composed of both carbon dioxide and water South Polar Cap: Consists mainly of frozen carbon dioxide. This cap never melts completely. This picture shows it at its minimum size of 400 km (249 miles). Mars’ Surface

  10. North Polar Cap: Consists of mainly water-ice. Seasonal Changes: When spring begins in a hemisphere, the corresponding cap shrinks as the carbon dioxide turns directly into a gas. Mars’ Surface

  11. Mars’ Surface • Polar caps change in size depending on the Martian seasons.

  12. Olympus Mons: Largest mountain (volcano) in the Solar System 24 km (78,000 ft) high Base is 500 km in diameter Rimmed by a 6 km (20,000 ft) high cliff Mars’ Surface 500 km

  13. Valles Marineris: Huge canyon Would stretch coast to coast across the U.S. It is 4000 km (2500 miles) long and up to 6 km (4 miles) deep Mars’ Surface 4000 km

  14. Mars’ Surface Flight over the Martian Terrain, including Valles Marineris and Three Volcanos m

  15. Viking Lander: Landed in Chryse Planitia on July 20, 1976 Took panoramic pictures of the surface On-board experiments tested soil for signs of life. Results were inconclusive. Mars’ Surface

  16. Mars’ Surface Viking Photos: To the right: Morning ground frost Below: Panorama and Mars’ pink sky.

  17. Mars’ Surface Pathfinder Photos: Rover and “Yogi” Martian Sunset

  18. Water on Mars? There is evidence of liquid water once flowing over the surface of Mars. Fluvial Features: Created by water flowing around a crater (right). Probably caused by a flood. Mars’ Surface

  19. Dry Riverbeds: Created by slow erosion of running water. Mars’ Surface

  20. Dust Storms: Mars’ surface winds churn up surface material Storm sizes range in size from small local “dust-devils” to plumes that sweep over the entire planet (right) Mars’ Surface

  21. Mars’ Moons PHOBOS: “Phobos” is Greek for “fear” Mars’ innermost moon Size: 27 x 21.6 x 18.8 km Above: Crater Stickney Left: Image by Soviet spacecraft Phobos 2, launched in 1988

  22. DEIMOS: “Deimos” is Greek for “panic” Smallest known moon in the solar system: 15 x 12.2 x 11 km Mars’ Moons Phobos and Deimos are probably captured asteroids

  23. Martian Myths of Yesterday Canals of Mars: • “Discovered” by G.V. Schiaparelli in 1877 • Percival Lowell (below) built an observatory in 1894 pricipally for the study of the Martian canals • The canals are actually optical illusions

  24. “The Face”: Lies in the Cydonia region, a region of weathered, isolated hills One hill resembling a face was photograghed by Viking 1 Martian Myths of Today Some people believe this is a monument built by a Martian intelligence, and that other surface features resemble pyramids, cities, and fortresses

More Related