Explanation: Looking for water on Mars, researchers using detectors on board the orbiting Mars Odyssey spacecraft have created this false-color global map of energetic neutrons from the otherwise Red Planet. What do neutrons have to do with water? As cosmic rays from interplanetary space penetrate the thin martian atmosphere and reach the surface they interact with elements in the upper layer of soil, scattering neutrons back into space. But if the martian soil contains hydrogen, it seriously absorbs energetic scattered neutrons. Tracking variations in absorption, neutron detectors can map changes in surface hydrogen content from orbit. Hydrogen content is taken as a surrogate measure of frozen water (H20), the most likely form of hydrogen close to the martian surface. Thus, bluer shades in the above map correspond to larger presumed concentrations of near-surface water ice. Water ice at the martian poles came as no surprise, but significant concentrations also seem to be present at lower latitudes. The melting of such near-surface ice could be responsible for the formation of martian gullies.
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 |
Январь Февраль Март Апрель Май Июнь Июль Август Сентябрь Октябрь Ноябрь Декабрь |
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
|
Публикации с ключевыми словами:
cosmic rays - neutron - hydrogen - Mars - Mars Odyssey - water - Марс - Марс Одиссей 2001 - космические лучи - нейтрон - водород - вода на Марсе
Публикации со словами: cosmic rays - neutron - hydrogen - Mars - Mars Odyssey - water - Марс - Марс Одиссей 2001 - космические лучи - нейтрон - водород - вода на Марсе | |
См. также:
Все публикации на ту же тему >> | |
