Questions tagged [mars]
Questions regarding Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun.
256 questions
7 votes
4 answers
2k views
Is the surface of Mars or the Moon mostly (or relatively) homogeneous, unlike the Earth?
The Earth's surface (ignoring the water) is very heterogeneous, with many layers of differing sediment due to the many different eras the Earth has been through. There's also diamond deposits, gold ...
- 187
0 votes
0 answers
84 views
Would Mars be capable of maintaining a habitable atmosphere for a sufficiently long period of time (i.e. millions of years) if it had a magnetosphere?
I've had questions regarding the long-term stability of a terraformed Martian atmosphere. I understand that since Mars only has ~38% of the Earth’s gravity and is only 10.7% as massive, its escape ...
- 628
1 vote
0 answers
80 views
Simulating day/night cycle on Phobos and tidal locking with respect to Mars
I am working on a game where I can show the surface of various celestial bodies and simulate the sky viewed from there as time goes on. For testing purposes I was visualising the day/night cycle as ...
- 111
0 votes
1 answer
131 views
Where is earth located after 2 years in relation to Mars assuming perfect circle orbit and at the start both planets are aligned?
According to Copernicus the assumption was that the planets orbit in perfect circles. Based on that his model was created. I was reading about this and I am confused on the following: The earth moves ...
- 153
3 votes
1 answer
111 views
From where can raw images be obtained from all of NASA's rovers sent to Mars so far?
I need some information (including visuals) of the Comet Siding Spring as seen by Opportunity and Curiosity rovers. Further was wanting to study a few phenomenon like that of Dust Devils on Mars. ...
- 895
0 votes
0 answers
50 views
How do I calculate total gravitational potential energy of collapsing star?
Given the Sun has a specific mass and diameter, how do I calculate the total gravitational potential energy of most points of reference in the Sun to something the size of Mercury? If it all ...
- 81
1 vote
1 answer
180 views
How far could you see on Mars?
On Earth, standing at 1.8m, you can see up to the horizon (4.8km). My question is, how far could you see on Mars standing at the same height? Would the dust-filled atmosphere obscure your vision after ...
- 19
-3 votes
1 answer
194 views
What's Mars mass compared to Earth since there are many different figures around?
According to, phys.org it's mass is just 6.4185 x 10$^{23}$ kg, which is around 15% that of Earth's According to, Universe Today However, it’s mass is just 6.4185 x 10²³ kg, which is around 10.7% ...
- 1,375
3 votes
1 answer
449 views
What's the radius of Mars over Mount Olympus?
According to Mars mass compared to earth, the Equatorial radius of Mars is 3396.2 kms and the Polar radius is 3376.2 . But I want to know the radius of Mars over Mount Olympus and it wont be the same ...
- 1,375
4 votes
0 answers
96 views
Calculate ephemeris for Mars before 1600 in Stellarium
I am trying to calculate Mars' ephemeris for XVI century (specifically from 1570 to 1599). However, Stellarium only allows calculations beyond 1600. Is there optional package that I can install to ...
- 295
2 votes
1 answer
166 views
Is there any astronomical phenomenon such that its movement can be perceived in real time?
Note: I think I could make this question more interesting by asking, "What is the phenomenon at greatest distance from Earth such that its movement can be perceived in real time?" My ...
- 211
0 votes
0 answers
68 views
How soon after the accretion did Mars experience the magma-ocean stage?
ChatGPT told me this: "Mars likely experienced the magma-ocean stage very early in its history, shortly after its accretion around 4.6 billion years ago." This is hard to digest. The planet'...
- 1,602
3 votes
1 answer
115 views
Pyephem equivalent when living on Mars?
The python pyephem library is great... if you are on Earth. Has anyone built one if you were living on Mars? A search on this turns up the ephemeris of Mars many times, but not something that could ...
- 131
1 vote
0 answers
76 views
Could mars become volcanically active if it is pulled into a highly eccentric orbit
Let's suppose that a passing planetary mass object pulls mars into an even more eliptical solar orbit, not accounting for other planets, to what degree of eccentricity would be needed for, let's say ...
- 910
16 votes
2 answers
3k views
Why does Mars have a jagged light curve?
Caption: The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Mars, according to the most recent ephemeris data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days ...
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