Planetary Geology
Should Humans Be in Space?
It’s Not Like
We Have a
Choice
Why Not Just Use A Telescope?
Himalayas from Space Shuttle
“You Can’t See Borders From Space”
Landsat
View of
Green Bay
Landsat View of Green Bay
Spy Satellite
Views of Soviet
Aircraft Carrier
World Trade Center, September 11, 2001
Aurora From Space
Impacts on Earth
Recent Impact – Meteor Crater
Manicouagan, Quebec
Sudbury, An Ancient Impact Site
A Shatter Cone
Fallback Breccia
Bessel: A Simple Crater
Ejecta
around
Timocharis
Tycho: A
CentralPeak
Crater
How Central Peaks Form
Upheaval Dome, Utah
Schrodinger: A Peak-Ring Crater
Mare Orientale
A Multiple-Ring
Impact Basin
Craters and Planetary History
• Superposition
• Crater Saturation
• Crater Degradation
Superposition
Crater Saturation
Crater Degradation
Mega-Impacts
Computer Simulations by H.J.
Melosh (University of Arizona)
The Inner Planets
Mercury from
Mariner 10,
1974
Caloris
Basin,
Mercury
Snowball in Hell: Ice on Mercury
Ice in Mercury’s Polar Craters
We’re
Ba-a-a-ck
Venus
Topography of Venus
Radar
Map of
Venus
Surface of Venus
Venus has
Craters
Venus is Volcanic
“Pancake” Volcanoes
Mars
Landing on Mars
The Real Face of Mars
Mars from Pathfinder
Sojourner
Vallis Marineris
Martian Landslide
Olympus Mons
Mars’ Polar Caps
Dunes on Mars
Ancient Floods on Mars
A Rampart Crater
Recent Water on Mars?
Layered
Rocks on
Mars
Martian Meteorite
Martian Fossils ?
Deimos and Phobos