[meteorite-list] Serious question?

From: Philip R. Burns <pib_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:29:56 2004
Message-ID: <5.2.0.9.2.20030916153739.02f94bd8_at_pibburns.com>

At 08:49 AM 9/16/2003 +0100, you wrote:

>On a similar note ... why is the Lunar surface Grey and Mars red if
>they are both resurfaced by meteorites, likewise wouldn't we expect
>other rocky bodies/planets to be red too especially those with a thin
>atmosphere? Surley the only process that would turn meteorite dust into
>red soil is oxygen or WATER ??

The difference between Mars and the Moon is that Mars has an atmosphere
containing carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O). These provide the source
for oxidizing iron on the surface. The Moon has no atmosphere, hence no
source of oxygen to promote oxidation.


-- Philip R. "Pib" Burns
    pib_at_pibburns.com
    http://www.pibburns.com/
Received on Tue 16 Sep 2003 04:42:27 PM PDT