ASTR 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 34: Percival Lowell, Olympus Mons, Mariner 9
29 Nov 2016
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Mars has polar caps and has rocky surfaces. Has thinner atmosphere and is smaller than earth. Further away from sun so cooler; longer orbital period. 11% the mass of earth and 53% of radius. Spins on axis similar to earth; once ever 24 hrs. Polar icecaps made from frozen water and co2 (dry ice) Seasonal variation in colour; thought to be vegetation but turns out it is wind storms that move rocks of different colours around. Believed they were produced by the evolution of the planet. Percival lowell believed there were canals on mars; observed mars continuously and mapped all the canals of mars; thought there were martians trying to take water from the polar icecaps and trying to survive. A structure equivalent to the suez canal would be unobservable from earth . Percival lowell said that they had vast tracts of irrigated land that made them stand out.
