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MSU AST 115 - Terrestrial Planets and The Moons (Part 2)
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AST 115 1st Edition Lecture 17 Outline of Last Lecture I. Eartha. Physical propertiesb. Atmospherec. Surface pressured. Surface temperaturee. Atmospheric layersf. Surfaceg. Interiorh. Magnetic fieldII. Earth’s Moona. Physical propertiesb. Atmospherec. Surface temperatured. Surface featurese. OriginOutline of Current Lecture I. Details on MercuryII. Details on VenusIII. Details on MarsCurrent Lecture Mercuryo Size- 4/10ths of Earth’s diametero Revolution/Rotation- 88/59 days- 3 “spins” for every 2 “orbits” of the Suno Atmosphere- Essentially noneo Surface- Temperature range (approximate) Max → 800˚F Min → -280˚FThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute. Range = 1080˚F. Mercury has the highest temperature range. Compared to Earth’s, being 270˚F.- Although Mercury is covered with impact craters like the Moon, it has no large maria. There are smaller areas of solidified lava called “intercrater plains”.- Mercury’s surface has many sheer cliffs “scarps” that indicate the planet’scrust shifted after craters formed. Scarps can be hundreds of miles long and greater than a mile high.o Interior- Mercury is smaller than just Earth’s core- Mercury’s core is made up of mostly iron- The planet Mercury is made up of mostly its core.o Magnetic field- Mercury’s magnetic field is only about as strong as 1% of Earth’s magneticfield. - The very weak magnetic field is mainly due to Mercury’s slow spin on its axis.o The 2nd Mission to Mercury- MESSENGER space craft flew by Venus twice and Mercury once.- Color enhanced images from MESSENGER show the entire Caloris Basin (about 1000 mile impact crater).- MESSENGER continues to study and orbit Mercury today. Venuso “Earth’s twin”o Revolution/Rotation- 225/243R (R = retrograde motion) days.o Atmosphere-CO2 (96.5%) acts as a “greenhouse gas” to trap heat.- Venus has the highest average temperature of all the planets in our solar system. The average temperature on Venus is about 860˚F.- Surface pressure is about 90 bars (same as the amount of pressure you would feel if you were about 3,000 ft deep in Earth’s oceans).- Greenhouse Effecto Surface of Venus- Venus has global perpetual cloud cover, so astronomers used radar to study its surface. Radio waves pass through clouds and return signals to tell what the surface looks like.- About 80% of Venus’s surface is gently rolling plains with about 1,600 volcanoes/volcanic features.- U.S. Magellan probe used radar to map the entire surface of Venus.- It showed that there were volcanic features with few impact craters.- Both the U.S. and the Soviet Union has landed probes on Venus.- The Russian probe Venera 13 revealed flat, angular rocks of probable volcanic origin on the surface of Venus before succumbing to the heat. Mars (planet most studied by astronomers)o Surface gravity = On Mars, a person would weigh 3/8 of what you weigh on Earth.o Revolution/Rotation- 687 days / 24 hr. 39 minutes 35 seconds.- Martian “day” is called a “sol”.- Mars also has an axial tilt similar to Earth’s (about 25.2˚)- Seasons on Mars are much more severe and last a longer period of time.o Mars has two satellites- Phobos is the larger satellite (maximum dimension is about 16 miles). It isirregular in shape and it is heavily cratered.- Deimos is the smaller of the satellites (maximum dimension is about 10 miles). It is also irregular in shape and is heavily cratered.o Atmosphere- Thin and dry- Mostly made up of CO2 (about 95%)- Surface pressure is only about 0.006 bars- Mars’s temperature range (approximate) Max → 70˚F Min → -220˚F Mean temperature → -60˚Fo Surface features- Mars has a heavily cratered Southern hemisphere.- Mars’s Northern hemisphere is smoother and has volcanic domes.- The Northern and Southern hemispheres are separated by Valles Marineris (Valley of the Mariners). It is about 3,000 miles long, about 120 miles wide and about 4 miles deep.- The largest mountain in our solar system is Olympus Mons (Mt. Olympus).It stands about 16 miles tall (about 80,000 ft) and its base covers about 36miles. Mt. Olympus is an extinct volcano.o Life on Mars?- In 1976, two Viking spacecrafts landed on the surface of Mars and tested the soil for life.- No organic compounds were found at the sites that the soil was collected and tested.- Two more rovers went to Mars, the Spirit rover and the Opportunity rover. - In 2012, Curiosity landed on the surface of mars.- All three of the rovers have found evidence of past liquid water on the surface of Mars.- The last rover sent to Mars in September of 2014 was the Maven rover. It was sent to study Mars’s


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MSU AST 115 - Terrestrial Planets and The Moons (Part 2)

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