PH1600: Introductory AstronomyLecture 6: Mercury, Venus, & Mars

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PH1600: Introductory AstronomyLecture 6: The Terrestrial Planets: Mercury, Venus, & Mars

Next Lecture: Earth and Moon

School: Michigan Technological University

Professor: Robert Nemiroff

Online Course WebCT pages:

http://courses.mtu.edu/

This class can be taken online ONLY, class attendance is not required!

You are responsible for… Lecture material

Listed wikipedia entries But not higher math

APODs posted during the semester APOD review every week during lecture

Completing the Quizzes Homework quizzes 1 & 2 already due Homework 3 quiz due before 5 pm today See WebCT at http://courses.mtu.edu/

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Wikipedia entries:

Mercury_(planet) Venus Mars Phoenix Lander

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Terrestrial Planets

Mercury, Venus, Earth, & Mars Mostly composed of rock All in the inner Solar System

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrestrial_planets

Orbits of the Terrestrial Planets

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_Solar_System#Inner_Solar_System

Mercury First rock from the Sun Very hot Little atmosphere Orbits once in 88 Earth days Rotates once in 59 Earth days

3:2 orbital resonance of elliptical orbit Visited by

Mariner 10 in 1974-75 MESSENGER in 2008

Will orbit Mercury in 2011

Mercury Over LeedsCredit & Copyright: Tony Cook APOD: 2005 March 7

Mercury SpottingCredit: SOHO - EIT Consortium, ESA, NASAAPOD: 2004 June 6

A Mercury Transit SequenceCredit & Copyright: Dominique Dierick

APOD: 2003 May 27

Mercury: A Cratered InfernoCredit: Mariner 10, NASA

APOD: 2004 September 12

Southwest MercuryCredit: Mariner 10, NASAAPOD: 2003 February 16

Messenger LaunchCredit & Copyright: Ben Cooper APOD: 2004 August 14

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Mercury in Accentuated Color Credit: MESSENGER, NASA, JHU APL, CIWAPOD: 2008 March 19

A Spider Shaped Crater on Mercury Credit: MESSENGER, NASA, JHU APL, CIWAPOD: 2008 February 4

Mercury's FaultsCredit: NASA, JPL, Mariner 10,

Copyright Calvin J. Hamilton (LANL)APOD: January 21, 1996

Mercury's Caloris BasinCredit: NASA, JPL, Mariner 10APOD: 1996 January 20

Venus

Second rock from the Sun Size and mass similar to Earth Covered by highly reflective clouds

Mostly Carbon Dioxide Orbits once in 224.7 Earth days Rotates once in 243 Earth days

Venus

Surface atmosphere hot and dense Surface temperature: 750 K Surface pressure: 90 times Earth Caused by greenhouse effect

Landing by Soviet Veneras in 1970s & 1980s

Venus Express (ESA) arrived in 2006 Studying clouds

A Quadruple Sky Over Great Salt LakeCredit & Copyright: Michael Wilson

APOD: 2005 September 13

The Belt of Venus over the Valley of the MoonCredit & Copyright: Christine Churchill APOD: 2006 July 23

Space Station, Venus, SunCredit & Copyright: Tomas Maruska (SAAD)

APOD: 2004 July 20

A Picturesque Venus TransitCredit & Copyright: David Cortner APOD: 2004 June 23

S is for VenusCredit & Copyright: Tunç Tezel APOD: 2005 January 7

Venus Express Arrives at VenusCredit: ESA/MPS, Katlenburg-Lindau, GermanyAPOD: 2006 July 17

Venus: Earth's Cloudy TwinCredit: Galileo Spacecraft, JPL, NASA; Copyright: Calvin J. HamiltonAPOD: 2004 May 16

Venus UnveiledCredit: Magellan Project, JPL, NASA

APOD: 2005 September 3

Venus' Once Molten SurfaceCredit: E. De Jong et al. (JPL), MIPL, Magellan Team, NASA APOD: 2005 April 10

Atete Corona on VenusCredit: Magellan Spacecraft Team, USGS, NASA

APOD: 2002 March 12

Lava Flows on VenusCredit: Magellan Project, JPL, NASA

APOD: 2004 March 23

One Hundred-Kilometer Terrain on VenusCredit: Magellan Spacecraft, USGS, NASAAPOD: 2001 May 7

A Venus LandingCredit: Soviet Planetary Exploration Program, NSSDCAPOD: 2003 November 30

Venus Express in Venus orbithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Venus_Express_in_orbit.jpg

Swirling Clouds Over the South Pole of VenusCredit: ESA/MPS, Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany APOD: 2007 May 1

Mars

Fourth planet from the Sun Once thought inhabited by Martians

making canals Orbits in 687 Earth days Rotates in 24 h 40 m Thin atmosphere

Mostly Carbon Dioxide Coldest: -140 C; Warmest: 21 C Surface pressure 1% of Earths

Earth Webcam Catches Mars RotationCredit: Howard C. Anderson (Astroshow.com)APOD: 2003 August 26

Retrograde MarsCredit & Copyright: Tunc Tezel APOD: 2003 December 16

Z is for MarsCredit & Copyright: Tunc Tezel

APOD: 2006 April 22

Mars Then and NowCredit & Copyright: Tom Ruen, Eugene Antoniadi,

Lowell Hess, Roy A. Gallant, HST, NASAAPOD: 2003 November 12

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Kirks_Soap_Yerkes_Mars.jpg

Mars MoonsCredit & Copyright: Johannes Schedler (Panther Observatory)APOD: 2003 October 24

Phobos: Doomed Moon of MarsCredit: G. Neukum (FU Berlin) et al., Mars Express, DLR, ESA APOD: 2004 November 19

Deimos: A Small Martian MoonCredit: Viking Project, JPL, NASA

APOD: 2001 September 2

Valles Marineris: The Grand Canyon of MarsCredit: Viking Project, USGS, NASA APOD: 2006 July 30

A Digital Opportunity Rover on MarsCredit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission, Cornell, JPL, NASARover Model: D. Maas - Synthetic Image: Z. Gorjian et al.APOD: 2005 December 14

Earth or Mars?Earth Image Credit & Copyright: Filipe Alves;

Mars Image Credit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission, JPL, NASA APOD: 2005 April 12

Red Mars from SpiritCredit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission, JPL, NASA APOD: 2004 January 7

Heat Shield Impact Crater on MarsCredit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission, JPL, NASAAPOD: 2005 February 9

Steep Cliffs on MarsCredit: G. Neukum (FU Berlin) et al.,

Mars Express, DLR, ESA APOD: 2005 March 15

Unusual Plates on MarsCredit: G. Neukum (FU Berlin) et al., Mars Express, DLR, ESA APOD: 2005 February 28

Water Ice in a Martian CraterCredit: G. Neukum (FU Berlin) et al., Mars Express, DLR, ESA;Image created for and Copyright: Nature APOD: 2005 July 20

A Dust Devil Crater on MarsCredit: Malin Space Science Systems, MGS, JPL, NASA APOD: 2003 December 30

A Martian Dust Devil PassesCredit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission, JPL, NASA APOD: 2005 April 26

Global Dust Storms Threaten Mars RoversCredit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission, Cornell, JPL, NASA

APOD: 2007 July 25

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Victoria Crater on Mars Credit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission, Cornell, JPL, NASAAPOD: 2007 October 22

Inside Victoria Crater on MarsCredit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission, Cornell, JPL, NASA APOD: 2007 September 17

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Phoenix Digs for Clues on Mars Credit: Phoenix Mission Team, NASA, JPL-Caltech, U. Arizona, Texas A&M UniversityAPOD: 2008 June 15

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Phoenix and the Snow Queen Credit: Kenneth Kremer, Marco Di Lorenzo, Phoenix Mission, NASA, JPL, UA, Max Planck Inst., Aviation Week and Space TechnologyAPOD: 2008 June 12

A Face On MarsCredit: The Viking Project, NASA APOD: 1998 April 6

Mars Express Close-Up of the Face on MarsAPOD: 2006 September 25