Download Olympus Mons

Journal 10/25/16
Do you think God has created other life somewhere out
there in the Universe? Explain.
Objective
Tonight’s Homework
To learn about the surface and
composition of mars
finish coloring map by Friday
Homework Quiz
Section 8.1
Which means closer to the sun? Perihelion or aphelion?
Section 8.5
Where have we found ice on the moon?
Section 9.4
Tell me the name of one of the “continents” on Venus
Notes on Mars
Overview
Mars is one of the most interesting locations in
the solar system. The planet is about 40% the
size of Earth and has a thin atmosphere made of
carbon dioxide.
The surface is
covered in rusted
rocks that have
“locked up” most of
the planet’s oxygen.
Notes on Mars
Even though it has a thin atmosphere, Mars is
known for its violent dust storms that can cover
the entire planet. These storms can also end up
lasting several months and whip the dust at
hundreds of miles an hour.
The average
temperature
on Mars is
about 20
degrees below
zero.
Notes on Mars
Valles Marineris
The Mariner Valley
at Mars’ equator
runs over 4 miles
deep and wraps
around 20% of
the planet. (This
is about as big
as the US.)
This huge canyon
is thought to have formed from the surface of
the planet cracking when all the volcanoes to
the West got too heavy.
Notes on Mars
We have yet to send a rover or close probe to
the valley, but it would certainly make an
interesting location for a mission.
It’s worth noting that current theory says this
valley was NOT formed by water at any point in
Mars’ past.
Notes on Mars
Olympus Mons
The volcanic region to the west of Marineris is
known as Tharsis and contains the largest
known volcano in the solar system, Olympus
Mons.
The mountain is a shield volcano, formed from
the same forces that shaped
the Hawaiian islands. This
mountain, however, is over
400 miles wide and 15 miles
high. It’s big.
Notes on Mars
To put that in perspective…
How did it grow so large? The volcano is
thought to sit on top of a Martian hot-spot.
However, unlike Earth, Mars has no plate
tectonics, so the volcano was able to simply
keep growing until it ran out of magma.
The rest of the Tharsis region is covered in
volcanoes as well, but none as big as this.
Notes on Mars
Water Terrain
We notice one more interesting feature
scattered around Mars. The crater below seems
to have a “splash” pattern around it – as if mud
had splashed out. The region at lower-right
looks like it was carved by a river creating
islands.
It seems
Mars
once had
water,
though it
doesn’t
any more.
Notes on Mars
It’s thought that Mars lost all its water within a
fairly short amount of time. Where did the water
go? It’s likely linked to the atmosphere
becoming thinner. So how did the atmosphere
get thinner?
The most accepted
theory is that as
O2 bonded to the
rocks to become
rust, it got “locked
up”. On Earth,
volcanoes help put
this O2 back in the
air. On Mars, this
never happened.
Notes on Mars
Exploration
To date, we’ve sent 7 landers and rovers to
Mars. They’ve taken thousands of pictures and
analyzed tons of rocks and soil.
If Mars Had Seas
1) How is the northern hemisphere of mars different from
the southern hemisphere?
2) What is the latitude, longitude and elevation of the
highest peak? What is it called?
3) What is the elevation, name, and shape of the lowest
feature on Mars?
4) What have you learned from this activity?
Exit Question
Which is the only Martian mountain separated from the
rest?
a) Elysium Mons
b) Olympus Mons
c) Ascraeus Mons
d) Pavonis Mons
e) Arsia Mons
f) None. They’re all close together.