Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
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.