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Astronomy 1010-H Planetary Astronomy Fall_2014 Day-28

Astronomy 1010-H Planetary Astronomy Fall_2014 Day-28. Course Announcements. SW Ch. 8: Mon. 11/03 (Target, it might change) SW Ch. 9: Mon. 11/10 (Target, it might change) SW Ch. 10: Fri. 11/14 (Target, it might change) SW Ch. 11: Fri. 11/21 (Target, it might change)

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Astronomy 1010-H Planetary Astronomy Fall_2014 Day-28

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  1. Astronomy 1010-H Planetary Astronomy Fall_2014 Day-28

  2. Course Announcements • SW Ch. 8: Mon. 11/03 (Target, it might change) • SW Ch. 9: Mon. 11/10 (Target, it might change) • SW Ch. 10: Fri. 11/14 (Target, it might change) • SW Ch. 11: Fri. 11/21 (Target, it might change) • SW Ch. 12: Wed. 12/03 (Target, it might change) • Exam-3: Wed. Nov. 5 – Ch. 6, 7, 8 • Read chapters 8, 9

  3. Take more astronomy! Registration for the Spring semester starts soon so think about taking more astronomy. ASTR-1010/1011: Planetary Astronomy & lab ASTR-1020/1021: Stellar Astronomy & lab ASTR-2020: Problems in Stellar AstronomyASTR-3020: Cosmology ASTR-4020: Galactic Astrophysics PHYS-2468: Intro. To Physics Research ASTR-3030/3031: Instrumentation & Techniques

  4. Tectonism is the deformation of Earth’s crust. • Earth’s crust is broken into lithospheric plates. • Continental drift and plate tectonics describe the movement of those plates.

  5. Crustal plates are moved around by convection—the rising and falling of hot/cold material. • Earth has seven major plates and six smaller ones.

  6. Plates can separate or collide. • Because of these motions, most volcanoes and earthquakes occur along plate boundaries.

  7. Only Earth has its crust broken into plates. • All terrestrial planets have seen some form of deformation, though. • Mercury’s surface shrank after it cooled, leaving cliffs.

  8. Mars has experienced extensive tectonism, and boasts the massive chasm Valles Marineris. • Venus may have a different form of tectonism, with melting and overturning of the crust.

  9. Volcanism is related to tectonism and is a sign of geologic activity. • The movement of the tectonic plates generates a lot of thermal energy from friction. • This energy combines with heat from convection cells in the mantle to heat portions of the lower crust and upper mantle as magma.

  10. Volcanoes form (mostly) at hot spots and plate boundaries. • Very fluid lava forms shield volcanoes. • Thick lava forms composite volcanoes.

  11. The Moon does not have any volcanoes, but lava flows smoothed out parts of its surface. • Mercury also has smooth surfaces from past volcanism, and a few inactive volcanoes have been identified.

  12. The volcanoes on Mars are the largest mountains in the Solar System, and are shield volcanoes (largest = Olympus Mons). • Venus has the largest amount of volcanoes in the Solar System.

  13. Erosion includes processes that wear down the high spots and fill in the low. • On Earth, wind and water strongly erode features. • Wind also modifies the surfaces of Venus and Mars, especially on Mars with its loose dust.

  14. Water • While Earth is the only planet with liquid water, there is much evidence that Mars was once wetter than it is today. • Canyons, dry riverbeds, layered rock.

  15. Water • Large deposits of subsurface ice have been detected beneath Mars’ surface, deep under craters as well as just beneath the soil. • Water ice could exist on Mercury and was observed on the Moon after NASA crashed a vehicle into a crater.

  16. Water • Impacts have far-reaching consequences. • The mass extinction of the dinosaurs marked in the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary could be evidence of a very large impact.

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