Mars, Has The Largest Dust Storm

Largest dust storm on Mars ever recorded

           According to Leah Crane from New Scientist online website, dust storms on Mars aren’t all about dust — they’re also full of water. In 2018, the largest recorded dust storm circled the entire Martian globe, so thick that it hid the surface from the sun and killed the Opportunity rover. The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter watched this cataclysmic storm from orbit. Just before sunset and just after sunrise on Mars, it examined the atmosphere to determine how the dust storm absorbed sunlight. Just before the storm, there were water ice clouds in the atmosphere, but no water vapour more than 40 kilometres above the surface. This changed a few days later when water vapour appeared at altitudes of 40 and 80 kilometres, seemingly replacing the water ice clouds.

           This probably occurs because the dust absorbs heat, warming up the atmosphere and making it circulate more strongly, which prevents the formation of ice clouds.

How bad are the dust storms on Mars?

          According to CoolCosmos, Mars is famous for its large, planet-wide dust storms. Mars has an atmosphere which is much thinner than the atmosphere on Earth, but which still creates winds. When these winds pick up the fine, dry particles of dust on Mars, a dust storm can occur. Most dust storms cover an area for a few days and carry small particles of dust at speeds of 33 to 66 miles per hour. Sometimes, though rarely, dust storms on Mars can be fierce enough to cover the entire planet in a dusty haze for weeks.

Posted by Nerina Jaizi

Guest Blogger

Pluto, The Largest Dwarf Planet

Did you know?

        Pluto, once considered the ninth and most distant planet from the sun, is now the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system. It is also one of the largest known members of the Kuiper Belt, a shadowy zone beyond the orbit of Neptune thought to be populated by hundreds of thousands of rocky, icy bodies each larger than 62 miles (100 kilometers) across, along with 1 trillion or more comets.

        In 2006, Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet, a change widely thought of as a demotion. The question of Pluto's planet status has attracted controversy and stirred debate in the scientific community, and among the general public, since then. 

Posted by Nerina Jaizi

Guest Blogger

Pernahkah Anda Menerokai Dunia Molekul di Petrosains?

Apa itu molekul? Molekul ialah zarah neutral yang terdiri daripada dua atau lebih atom yang bergantung dalam kumpulan kecil dan boleh wujud sendirian. Jika anda ingin merasai molekul-molekul di sekeliling anda, marilah bersama kami di Petrosains untuk menerokai Laluan Hidrokarbon.  

Terdapat beberapa molekul yang amat besar di sepanjang laluan ini. Di samping itu kami juga berkongsi ilmu mengenai apa itu polimer di sepanjang laluan tersebut. Laluan Hidrokarbon ini juga merupakan pameran yang paling terawal di dalam Petrosains. Walaupun sudah lama, molekul tersebut masih tergantung teguh sehingga kini. Laluan ini juga amat sesuai untuk anda mencipta kenangan dengan bergambar di kawasan tersebut.

Sila layari laman web kami di www.petrosains.com.my untuk mengetahui lebih banyak infomasi mengenai pameran yang terdapat di Petrosains. Selamat meneroka!   

Posted by Nerina Jaizi

Guest Blogger