Extraterrestrial Volcanoes

Transcription

1 Barbara Stonewall, M.Ed. December 19, 2002 Plu to Nep tun e Ura nus Sat urn Jup iter Ma rs Ear th Ven us Me rcu ry Sun Extraterrestrial Volcanoes

2 Fires that shook me once, but now to silent ashes fall'n away. Cold upon the dead volcano sleeps the gleam of dying day. -Tennyson

3 Volcano Types: Cinder-cone: Small, steep, ejected material returns. Shield Cone: Circular base, gentle slopes, basaltic, non-explosive. Composite Cone: Large, explosive, fragments plus lava.

4 Plu to Nep tun e Ura nus Sat urn Jup iter Ma rs Ear th Ven us Mercury Sun Past Volcanism on Mercury Abundance of surface craters No craters more that 50 km in diameter Evidence of lava-filled craters Volcanic rock samples predate Earth Rock samples >3000 million years ago

5 Plu to Nep tun e Ura nus Sat urn Jup iter Ma rs Ear th V e n u s Me rcu ry Sun Volcanic Activity on Venus 80% of the planet s surface shows volcanic activity Several million volcanoes have been detected Venus is (debatably) volcanically extinct Many volcanoes are several hundred km across, and thousands of km high

6 NASA Photo: A Volcano on Venus Largest volcanoes are shield-cone type No plate tectonics, which is part of how Earth cools Unconfirmed cooling theories: hot spot volcanism and/or bubbling, blistering surface volcanoes

7 Plu to Nep tun e Ura nus Sat urn Jup iter Ma rs Ea rth Ven us Me rcu ry Sun Terrestrial Volcanism is a separate topic not covered here; please refer to your textbook, the internet, or other relevant Earth-science resources.

8 Plu to Nep tun e Ura nus Sat urn Jup iter Ma rs Ear th Ven us Me rcu ry Sun Martian Volcanoes Mars is almost volcanically extinct; this is debatable Martian volcanoes are probably all shield-cone types Mars has at least 3 volcanoes larger than those on Earth Mars has the largest volcano in the solar system: Olympus Mons

9 Olympus Mons: A Shield Volcano on Mars Earth s Largest Volcano: Mauna Loa 9 km high 120 km across x 3 = Olympus Mons: 24 km high 550 km across Mars 1/2 of Earth s diameter Olympus Mons 3 times the size of Earth s largest Volcano Huge size disparity due to Mars stationary crust, hence enormous hot-spots that build-up in stationary positions

10 Plu to Nep tun e Ura nus Sat urn Ju pit er Ma rs Ear th Ven us Me rcu ry Sun Volcanoes on Io: A moon of Jupiter The most volcanically active place in the solar system At least 8 active volcanoes have been mapped Plumes extend 280 km above Io s surface Molten rock spews out faster than the speed of sound The size of Io is Earth s moon Jupiter 318 times more massive than Earth itself Io and Earth s moon same orbit, but Io has greater gravitational stress, causing huge amounts of internal heat

11 Io: One of Jupiter s Moons

12 Io: Images from Galileo s Mission ( Raw images) (Digitally remastered)

13 Io Lesson Plans & Activities: presented by ThursdaysClassroom.com August 3, 2001 Thursday's Classroom Corner These stories and lessons are based on the article "Another Daring Adventure for Galileo" KIDS STORIES: These far-out discussion questions are as hot as the volcanoes on Io. [lesson plan] [questions] Me-O, My-O, Io!: Students will use the words in the kid's stories and the Volcano Glossary to create their own volcanic verse. Sample poems include Haiku, limerick and simple rhyming forms. [lesson plan] [activity sheet] [sample poems] [glossary] Volcano Jeopardy: Divide your class into competing teams and play this fun game designed to familiarize students with volcanoes all over the Solar System. [lesson plan] [Jeopardy Questions] [Volcanoes Around the Solar System] Io Pizza Party: Some scientists think Io looks like a gigantic pepperoni & olive pizza. Students can decide for themselves by making their own Io Pizza Pie and comparing their work to pictures of Io. [lesson plan] [Io picture] Paper Clip Quicky: In this quick and easy lesson, students use paper clips to understand how Io got so hot on the inside. [lesson plan]

14 Plu to Nep tun e Ura nus Sat urn Ju pit er Ma rs Ear th Ven us Me rcu ry Sun Volcanoes on Other Moons of Jupiter: Europa and Ganymede have Cryovolcanism!

15 Plu to Ne ptu ne Ura nus Sat urn Jup iter Ma rs Ear th Ven us Me rcu ry Sun Triton: The seventh (and largest) of Neptune s Moons also features Ice Volcanoes! QuickTime and a Photo - JPEG decompressor are needed to see this picture.

16 Triton is the only large moon with a retrograde orbit Temperature equals Pluto s -235ºC Surface contains only a few craters The surface is young; older features destroyed Ice Volcanoes! Liquid Nitrogen QuickTime and a Photo - JPEG decompressor are needed to see this picture.

17 Plu to Ne ptu ne Ura nus Sat urn Jup iter Ma rs Ear th Ven us Me rcu ry Sun Scientists continue to search for evidence of extraterrestrial volcanism

18 Websites Used for Research can be found at: under the Astronomy category And on your Earth Science Class Web you can download the document E.T. Websites.