Mars
Mars presents significant challenges for human colonisation, featuring a thin atmosphere composed mainly of carbon dioxide, extreme cold, and high levels of toxic perchlorates in the soil. Its lack of a magnetic field would expose any future inhabitants to harmful radiation, complicating survival. Understanding these factors is crucial for future exploration and habitation.
This post considers the ways in which humans wearing protective cold weather clothing in the Antarctic winter at minus 80, and insulated spacesuits on Mars, also at minus 80, lose heat to the environment and arrives at the interesting conclusion that it is easier to stay warm on Mars at very low temperatures
The post clarifies the distinction between a planet's rotation period and its day length, emphasizing that for planets like Venus and Mercury, these can differ significantly. It explains the calculation of a day length and examines prograde and retrograde rotation, revealing misconceptions found in popular science.
Anybody who has observed the eastern sky just before sunrise in the last few weeks will have noticed a brilliant white object - the planet Venus, also known as the morning star. It is brighter than any other planet and at its brightest ten times brighter than Sirius the brightest star. Its brightness has often… Continue reading Venus the Morning Star
Doesn't time fly ! 🙂 Ten years have passed since I wrote my first post on my Explaining Science blog (originally called The Science Geek). I have decided to mark the occasion by reblogging my first ever post. Over the last ten years the question whether there are primitive life forms on Saturn’s icy moon… Continue reading Enceladus Could there be life 10 years on
Explaining Science 