Solar System B Question Marathon

[bob doyson]

Correct! Your turn.

[ScienceOlympian]

What are the tiger stripes on Enceladus?

[bob doyson]

A tiger stripe is a fissure that sprays icy particles, water vapor and organic compounds.

[bob doyson]

Since ScienceOlympian hasn't replied to me, I'm just gonna assume I'm right and ask the next question.

What does RAT stand for.
Hint: it's a tool found on the Spirit rover

[Adi1008]

Since ScienceOlympian hasn't replied to me, I'm just gonna assume I'm right and ask the next question.

What does RAT stand for.
Hint: it's a tool found on the Spirit rover

The RAT stands for Rock Abrasion Tool. It is a tool used on both the Spirit and Opportunity rovers to drill holes into rocks in order to obtain an interior view of them and get a "fresh" view of the rock. In essence, it is designed to remove dust and weathered material from the surface of a rock to expose a fresh surface. The fresh surface, which is more likely to represent the original rock before alteration, can then be studied by the other rover instruments.

[bob doyson]

Correct! Your turn!

[Adi1008]

Correct! Your turn!

Explain how Mars' atmospheric pressure varies with the season and which area(s) on Mars impact this the most.

[jingletek]

I'll give it a try: (Click to Show Hidden Text)

In each hemisphere, the polar ice cap sublimes during the summer and freezes during the winter. During the summer when it sublimes, the carbon dioxide from the ice cap goes into the atmosphere and increases the pressure around that area. This is true for both northern and southern polar caps, but the change in pressure is more extreme at the south pole, therefore causing sand plumes and such phenomenon.

[Adi1008]

I'll give it a try: (Click to Show Hidden Text)

In each hemisphere, the polar ice cap sublimes during the summer and freezes during the winter. During the summer when it sublimes, the carbon dioxide from the ice cap goes into the atmosphere and increases the pressure around that area. This is true for both northern and southern polar caps, but the change in pressure is more extreme at the south pole, therefore causing sand plumes and such phenomenon.

Correct. Your turn to ask a question. As a side note: this process also causes extremely high wind speeds (up to 400 kph if I recall correctly) that lead to massive dust storms around the planet and significant weathering.

[jingletek]

Yay
How did the permafrost on mars form? Be descriptive, please.