APOD 4.3

A Dust Devil of Mars
2012 April 13

Dust Devils, a metological phenomena that we never see in Florida, occurs regularly on Mars! The HiRISE camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter caught this dust devil; it has a diameter of 30 meters and the plume towers 800 meters into the martian atmosphere. This is caused by the sun's warming of Mars' surface, causing winds that pick up dust particles and cause a tornado-like effect. As hot low-pressure air is picked up it circulates and then cools as the air moves upward; the wind speed is usually around 110 km or 68 mph. The dust it displaces leaves tracks in the surface of Mars. The picture taken was of the Amazonis Planitia reigon of Mars, named for the "Land of the Amazons.






Additionally, time on Mars is easily divided into days based on its rotation rate and years based on its orbit.  Sols, or Martian solar days, are only 37 minutes and 22 seconds longer than Earth days. I guess that means there is a unique martian solar year!

APOD 2.6

An Unusual Vein of Deposited Rock on Mars 
2011 December 12 

In the Endeavour Crater located on Mars there is a vein of minerals that the Mars Explorer Rover Mission, Opportunity, found. Veins are distinct, sheetlike bodies of minerals that are formed from the process of precipitation. This bit of information lends itself to the ideas of water being on Mars, life existing on Mars (at some point), and even Mars being capable of supporting life. The mineral line is about a thick "as a human thumb" and is composed mainly of calcium and sulfur. Personally, I find the idea of life and water on Mars both entertaining and intriguing; it shows how humanity scales in comparison to the universe and lends itself to our endless pursuit of knowledge.

*Water on Mars*

APOD 1.5

2011 September 26
Mars' southern pole houses a ice cap of carbon-diaoxide that sublimates every year during the martian summer. When the carbon dioxide sublimates it converts directly from dry ice to its gaseous form of matter. What I find most interesting is the gold dust-like substance that surrounds the permanetly frozen portions of the caps. Currently we have no idea what this substance is yet. This just proves how vast and mysterious the universe is to us still! The exciting things waiting to be discovered are theoretically limitless!

The image of this dust was captured by the HiRISE camera on the Mars Observational Orbiter. The orbiter was launched in 2006 and since then has only captured 1% of Mars' surface at its high resolution quality.

In the coming winter seasons the gas will once again freeze and form larger ice caps.

P.S. Dry ice can be made to use comets! http://www.dryiceinfo.com/science.htm

Neat!