Re: Martian sands shift slowly but surely
- From: AustinMN <tacooper260@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 16 May 2007 07:05:57 -0700
On May 15, 4:12 pm, "S. Caro" <s...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Sam Wormley wrote:
Martian sands shift slowly but surely>
http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/11/5/14/1
15 May 2007
(snip)
Astronomers have long been puzzled by the sand dunes on Mars, which
were first discovered in 1971. The dunes look very much like those on
Earth, which suggests they were created by the action of wind. The
problem is that the Martian atmosphere is so thin and still -- so how
could the wind have played a part?
Strange.. It seems there's plenty of wind on Mars despite the thin
atmosphere. I can understand dunes moving much more slowly than on
earth due to the thinner atmosphere, but don't know why the scientists
are puzzled.
The mars rover Spirit filmed 'dust devils' moving across the surface of the
planet. These winds have enough force to leave marks on the desert surface.
http://marsrover.nasa.gov/gallery/press/spirit/20050819a.html
Also.. Major dust storms that whip dust high into the atmosphere aren't
uncommon occurrences either.
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990809.html
I'd imagine a wind that can carry tonnes of dust aloft could push the
odd grain of sand along the surface.
Sorry, but not quite. The dust particles carried by the dust devils
and by Martian winds are thousands of times smaller than grains of
sand.
Austin
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