Teachers have reported that the chats really enliven students' enthusiasm. This week we feature the issue of life on Mars. Jack Farmer is an exobiologist, so he is interested in the search for life outside of Earth. This RSVP is very important, since it will allow us to ensure that the chatroom does not become too crowded. Yet, if you stood on the surface of Mars at one of these times, you would probably not be blown over.
Martian winds can be swift but the Martian air is so thin that it packs very little punch.
In more scientific terms, this means that there wouldn't be nearly as many air molecules striking you per second in a Martian wind storm as there would be in a similar storm on Earth. A listing of the students who submitted answers to this Challenge Question will appear on the LFM Web site shortly. The largest crater on the larger of the two Martian moons, Phobos, is named Stickney. Ms. Stickney was not an astronomer but she played a critical role in the discovery of the Martian moons. The two moons of Mars were discovered by astronomer Asaph Hall at the US Naval Observatory in 1877.