Planetary Geology

Should Humans Be in Space?

It’s Not Like We Have a

Choice

Why Not Just Use A Telescope?

Himalayas from Space Shuttle

“You Can’t See Borders From Space”

Landsat View of

Green Bay

Landsat View of Green Bay

Spy Satellite Views of Soviet Aircraft Carrier

World Trade Center, September 11, 2001

Aurora From Space

Impacts on Earth

Recent Impact – Meteor Crater

Manicouagan, Quebec

Sudbury, An Ancient Impact Site

A Shatter Cone

Fallback Breccia

Bessel: A Simple Crater

Ejecta around

Timocharis

Tycho: A Central-

Peak Crater

How Central Peaks Form

Upheaval Dome, Utah

Schrodinger: A Peak-Ring Crater

Mare Orientale A Multiple-Ring Impact

Basin

Craters and Planetary History

• Superposition• Crater Saturation• Crater Degradation

Superposition

Crater Saturation

Crater Degradation

Mega-Impacts

Computer Simulations by H.J. Melosh (University of Arizona)

The Inner Planets

Mercury from Mariner 10,

1974

Caloris Basin,

Mercury

Snowball in Hell: Ice on Mercury

Ice in Mercury’s Polar Craters

We’re Ba-a-a-ck

Venus

Topography of Venus

Radar Map of Venus

Surface of Venus

Venus has Craters

Venus is Volcanic

“Pancake” Volcanoes

Mars

Landing on Mars

The Real Face of Mars

Mars from Pathfinder

Sojourner

Vallis Marineris

Martian Landslide

Olympus Mons

Mars’ Polar Caps

Dunes on Mars

Ancient Floods on Mars

A Rampart Crater

Recent Water on Mars?

Layered Rocks on

Mars

Martian Meteorite

Martian Fossils ?

Deimos and Phobos