THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
207-780-4249 www.usm.maine.edu/planet
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70 Falmouth Street Portland, Maine 04103
43.6667° N 70.2667° W
Altitude: 10 feet below sea level
Founded January 1970
Julian date: 2458766.5
2019-2020: XXIX
"Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds
as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool
and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and
surely drew their plans against us."
[image: image.png] WAR OF THE WORLDS
THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Friday, October 11, 2019
Quiz VI: Mars
[image: Mars-from-Hubble-640x353.jpg]
Our exploration through the Universe continues! In September, we offered
quizzes about the moon and inferior planets. Last week, we explored the
Sun. Now, we continue our quiz-quest with the red planet, Mars! We'd
say more about Mars, but we wouldn't want to give away any of the quiz
answers.
1. How many moons revolve around Mars?
a. 0
b. 1
c. 2
d. 79
2. Who wrote the novel "War of the Worlds" about a Martian invasion of
Earth?
a. Jules Verne
b. Isaac Asimov
c. H G Wells
d. Robert Louis Stevenson
3. How long is Mars' orbital period?
a. 456 days
b. 687 days
c. 711 days
d. 1034 days
4. When did a spacecraft first make contact with the Martian surface?
a. 1967
b. 1969
c. 1971
d. 1975
5. What was the special event related to Mars that occurred on August 27,
2003?
a. Mars came closer to Earth than it had been in about 60,000 years
b. Mars appeared brighter than Venus for the first time in 527 years
c. It marked the 200th anniversary of the discovery of Mars' two moons
d. The ashes of Gene Rodenberry, creator of "Star Trek" were sent to Mars
6. How often will Mars appear as large as the full moon in our sky?
a. Never
b. Only during every 20th opposition
c. At every perihelic opposition
d. No, we mean it. Never!!
7. Which statement about Mars ISN'T true?
a. It is the only terrestrial and superior planet
b. It contains the solar system's largest mountain
c. The polar caps contain water ice AND dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide)
d. Its highest possible temperature is only -12 degrees F
8. The surface gravity on Mars is about equal to the surface gravity
on________
a. Mercury
b. the Moon
c. Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede
d. Earth from the altitude of the International Space Station
9. Where in the sky would one find Mars currently?
a. low in the western evening sky
b. low in the eastern pre-dawn sky
c. rising in the eastern evening sky
d. it is not currently visible.
10. Why is Mars red?
a. it isn't. The red color an atmospheric effect
b. because its surface is covered by iron oxide (rust)
c. because its surface is cold
d. No, we mean it. The red color is an illusion created by Earth's
atmosphere
ANSWERS
1. c. 2
Mars has only one more satellite than Earth. These two moons, Phobos and
Deimos, are possibly captured asteroids. While they are much smaller
than Earth's moon, these two moons orbit Mars much more quickly: Phobos
completes one orbit every 7.6 hours, while more distant Deimos requires
about 30 hours to revolve once around Mars.
2. c. H G Wells
First serialized in 1897, "War of the Worlds" was first published in
hardcopy in 1898. This famous science fiction novel has inspired movies,
television programs and an infamous radio broadcast in 1938 that many
listeners believed was a real news report about a Martian invasion. The
very first Fake News event.
3. b. 687 days
As Mars' mean distance from the Sun is greater than Earth's, it requires
more time to complete an orbit. First, its orbital path is longer and
secondly, it is revolving more slowly as a consequence of its greater
distance.
4. c. 1971
The first spacecraft to make contact the surface were two Soviet
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union> probes: Mars 2
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_2> lander on November 27 and Mars 3
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_3> lander on December 2, 1971. These
were not, however, soft landings as intended.
5. a. Mars came closer to Earth than it had been in about 60,000 years
What an event that was!
Mars was closer to Earth than it has been in 60,000 years. Mars and Earth
were merely 56 million kilometers apart, quite a short distance by
interplanetary standards.
6. a and d.
Never! No Way! Not possible! No how!
If you venture outside and discover that Mars is as large as the full moon,
have a second helping of that high caloric desert because we're all about
to be hammer punched by the red planet. In order for Mars to appear as
large as the full moon it would have to be half a million miles away. Even
at its closest approach, its distance still exceeds 30 million.
7. d. Its highest possible temperature is only -12 degrees F
-Mars the last of the four terrestrial planets: rocky, small and with
relatively thin atmospheres. It is also a superior planet, meaning that
it is farther from the Sun than Earth.
-Mars largest mountain is Olympus Mons. With a diameter of 374 miles
(about the size of Arizona) and a summit 16 miles above the Martian
surface, Olympus Mons is the largest mountain the solar system
8. a. Mercury
The surface gravity of both Mars and Mercury is about 39% as strong as
Earth's.
9. b. low in the eastern pre-dawn sky
Mars isn't currently prominent. However, we will watch Mars growing
brighter and rising earlier as Earth and Mars approach each other. In mid
October 2020, Mars will be at opposition. At that time, the red planet
will rise at sunset and will be visible throughout the night.
10. b. because its surface is covered by iron oxide (rust)
Although our war-weary ancestors associated the red coloring with blood
(hence the name Mars, for the god of War), the crimson hue is all related
to a rust coating on the surface.
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