[meteorite-list] Serious question?

From: Tom aka James Knudson <knudson911_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:29:56 2004
Message-ID: <000e01c37c93$f3dba240$61c643d8_at_malcolm>

Hey list, If mars is red from dust covering the planet, why are the polar
caps not red also? Wouldn't they be like giant cherry snowcones?
Thanks, Tom
Peregrineflier <><
The proudest member of the IMCA 6168
----- Original Message -----
From: Philip R. Burns <pib_at_pibburns.com>
To: <meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2003 1:42 PM
Subject: RE: [meteorite-list] Serious question?


> 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/
>
>
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Received on Tue 16 Sep 2003 04:48:56 PM PDT