Meteorite/Planetary Science Quiz

Question #6

The observation of light flashes, dust clouds, and electrical discharges on Mars may be indicative of what?

The answer is meteoroid impacts.

A meteoroid impacting into the rarefied martian atmosphere penetrates much deeper than into the denser Earth atmosphere. Meteoroids >1 m in size, as a rule, hit the martian surface, while for the Earth they usually explode in the air at an altitude of 25-35 km. Meteoriods, the size of about 0.1 - 1 m, typically explode above the martian surface.

These explosions create intense blast waves and light flashes with luminous efficiency higher than what would occur on Earth. The combined effects of light impulse, shock waves, and cratering can cause mobilization of dust while the formation of dust clouds could trigger local martian storms.

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