Researchers from the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and international agencies collaborating on the mission insightPublished in the magazine natural earth sciencesInformation on the first recorded meteorite impact on Mars.
For the first time since arriving at the Red Planet in 2018, the InSight spacecraft has been able to pick up not only seismic signals, but also the sound and impact of a meteor explosion.
The meteor split into three when it entered the atmosphere of the red planet. watching video.
Scientists explained that the effect of the sound, which is a cartoon “bubble”, is caused by the heat trapped in the atmosphere of Mars, which causes sound waves to travel at different speeds.
According to them, under these conditions, waves with higher (high) frequencies move slower than waves with lower (low) frequencies, so whoever was near will hear a “bang”, and in the distance we hear a “bloop”. “.
But in addition to seismic and sound waves, the Mars reconnaissance vehicle It flew over the area of influence. Using the HiRISE camera, which produces high-resolution images, the crash site was photographed.
The blue color corresponds to the dust from the explosion caused by the explosion.source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
Three more impacts have been documented between 2020 and 2021, and researchers are excited about the records, as they open up new avenues of research into how Mars’ atmosphere works, and how often the planet collides with meteorites.
This data helps scientists understand more about the formation of Mars and the rocky planets.
