Babe Among the Stars: Volcano Vomit or Dust Bunnies on Mars?
Created | Updated Oct 18, 2015
Mortal as I am, I know that I am born for a day. But when I follow at my pleasure the serried multitude of the stars in their circular course, my feet no longer touch the earth - Ptolemy
Volcano Vomit or Dust Bunnies on Mars?
Hallowe'en season is almost upon us again. I have supplied many spooky space images in previous October BATS issues, which are still available to view. Just for a change, here's a weird feature on Earth's close neighbour Mars. There's a 10 km-wide rock feature inside a crater on the red planet which could be mistaken for a giant crocodile's footprints, perhaps. The formation does look similar to prehistoric dinosaur tracks here on Earth (if you have a fertile-enough imagination). Scientists studying the images taken by the Mars Odyssey spacecraft thought that the unusual feature could be clumps of salt which was all that remained from a long-dead sea, but it turns out to be nothing that exciting. Having studied the colours of the rocks and the surrounding area, the scientists have concluded that it's probably just volcanic ash - a remnant from Mars' geologically-active past - or possibly the infamous Martian dust gathered into clumps, protected from the harsh Martian atmosphere by the walls of the crater in which it resides. So, Martian dust bunnies or leftover volcano vomit? You decide.
October 2015 Diary Dates
- 02: The 65m-wide asteroid 2000 SM10 will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
- 02: The Moon passes half a degree north of Aldebaran (alpha Tauri)
- 03: The 54m-wide asteroid 2015 SR will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
- 03: The 14m-wide asteroid 2015 SJ17 will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
- 08: The Moon passes 0.7° south of Venus
- 09: Draconids meteor shower peak
- 09: The Moon passes 3° south of Mars
- 09: Venus passes 3° north of Regulus (alpha Leonis)
- 09: The Moon passes 3° south of Jupiter
- 10: The 1.9km-wide asteroid 2000 FL10 will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
- 11: The Moon passes within a degree south of Mercury
- 11: The Moon is at apogee (furthest from Earth)
- 12: New Moon
- 12: The 20m-wide asteroid 2015 TG24 will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
- 13: The 25m-wide asteroid 2015 TA238 will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
- 13: The 6m-wide asteroid 2015 TC25 will pass Earth within the orbit of the Moon
- 14: The 26m-wide asteroid 2015 TC179 will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
- 16: The Moon passes 3° north of Saturn
- 16: The 33m-wide asteroid 2015 TG144 will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
- 17: Mars and Jupiter are half a degree apart
- 17: The 1km-wide asteroid 2011 QD48 will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
- 18: The 21m-wide asteroid 2014 UR will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
- 18: The 50m-wide asteroid 2011 SE97 will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
- 20: The 130m-wide asteroid 2015 TD144 will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
- 21: Orionids meteor shower peak
- 21: The 1km-wide asteroid 2001 UY4 will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
- 22: The 26m-wide asteroid 2015 TZ143 will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
- 23: The Moon passes 3° north of Neptune
- 25/26: Venus and Jupiter are within a degree
- 26: The Moon passes less than a degree south of Uranus
- 26: The Moon is at perigee (closest to Earth)
- 27: Full Moon (the Hunter's Moon1)
- 27: The 50m-wide asteroid 2015 TL238 will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
- 28: Mercury passes 4° north of Spica (alpha Virginis)
- 29: The Moon passes 0.6° north of Aldebaran
- 31: Happy Hallowe'en!
- 31: The 470m-wide asteroid 2015 TB145 will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
Chat about your celestial observances at the H2G2 Astronomy Society. Comment on anything in this edition of Babe Among the Stars by starting a new conversation below.
