Planet Four Talk

Explore Mars

  • NickBarban by NickBarban

    Im a very amateur astronomer. Many years ago I had my PC running SETI 24hrs a day and found a couple of minor candidates. Nothing came of them but none the less, mega exciting.
    Now, last night I saw Brian Cox on BBC Stargazing and I'm fired up again taking about us exploring mars online. Amazing how you can feel like a kid again when your 42!
    I've started exploring Mars. How cool is that. Started looking at a couple of pictures during my lunch break, and for no other reason than to connect with you guys, wanted to ask a couple of questions on a few pictures, so that I can comment later on the basis that ive got some idea about what the hell,I'm talking about.

    1. Picture here shows what looks like iron ore deposits or similar (in red). Is this iron ore or is it something else.
    2. If the majority of the red (dust?) on the surface here is iron ore, then what is the richer red in the hollows surrounded by blue. Is this much deeper dust that is protected from winds (solar/planetary) or is it something else?
    3. What is the blue on what appears to be mountain ranges. I'm not sure what the scale is of these pictures, but I could easily imagine these ranges to be miles high. In which case, is this ice or is it another mineral deposit on the surface either over or instead of the iron.

    Would love to hear comments from anyone, wether your Jo Bloggs or Sir Patrick Moore ( he will be missed and we will always love him). I look forward to this and many more discussions. Roll on some clear nights so we can get the telescope back out.

    Nick Barban

    Posted