Craters on mars why

It's an impact crater. In fact, impact craters are the most common landforms in the entire solar system. They are abundant on the solid surfaces of just about every planet, moon, and asteroid in the Sun's family.

The exceptions are bodies that experience rapid erosion Earth, for example or frequent geological or volcanic activity examples include Jupiter's moons Io and Europa, Saturn's moon Titan, and Venus. Impact craters form in a range of sizes from microscopic to giant basins thousands of kilometers miles across. Relevant PhysicsForums posts Question about Kuiper belt 1 hour ago. Our Beautiful Universe - Photos and Videos 3 hours ago. Temperature of gas in a cluster 7 hours ago.

Level of details in prime focus vs eyepiece images Nov 10, Maximum mass of a neutron star Nov 09, Related Stories. The caved-in roof of a lava tube could be a good place to explore on Mars Feb 28, Jun 08, Dec 14, Feb 20, Apr 21, Recommended for you. SpaceX crew launch marks space travelers in 60 years Nov 11, Nov 10, Nov 09, Load comments 0. Let us know if there is a problem with our content. Conclusion Have the children reflect on what they observed and the images from Mars and Earth.

What features did the children create in their models? Impact craters. Do similarly shaped features occur on Mars or Earth? Yes, both. How are they different? The craters on Mars are much, much larger. How do the children think the craters on Mars and Earth formed? By large impactors — asteroids or comets — striking the Earth and Mars. Scientists have not actually seen any large asteroids or comets hit Mars, but they think the large craters on Mars — and on other planets and moons — were created by them.

Scientists have observed very small asteroids hitting Earth and several pieces of Comet Shoemaker-Levy struck Jupiter. When the children see "shooting stars" — more accurately called "meteors" — they are seeing tiny dust to sand-sized "asteroids" that are streaking toward Earth's surface. They are too small to make craters or leave any meteorites to collect. What evidence might scientists have to make them think impactors created these craters?

Scientists experiment with models — like the children did — to determine what type of feature an impactor might leave behind. They also have other evidence from some craters on Earth — like fragments of the asteroid meteorites , or alterations to the rocks and minerals at the impact site caused by the impactor striking the ground at high speed. How might observations on Earth help scientists interpret what they see on other planets?

Scientists study features — like volcanos — on Earth to understand their shape and size, what they are made of, and how they form. On Earth, this information can be used to predict where volcanos may form, and when they may erupt. It's about 3. Just for Kids. Mars The Phoenix Classroom. Web Exhibit. Ask the Team.