A New Explanation of Martian Phenomena.
Abstract
white deposits of tetroxide will explain the polar caps, their yellowish tint being due to dioxide in equilibrium with the solid N2O4. The dark belt bordering the melting cap is regarded as liquid N2O4 with NO and/or N2O3 in solution, or as wetting of the substrate. The spread of heavy gaseous N2O4 over the dark areas, toward the equator, will account for the seasonal changes of color shown by them, according to the nature of the mineral structure of the Martian soil. In the atmosphere of Mars the oxides of nitrogen may exist in both gaseous and solid phases, and, in these forms, account for the observed meteorological phenomena. In minute crystals, at the temperatures prevailing at various altitudes and latitudes, they may account for the haze and the transient blue and white clouds that are known to occur. In the gaseous phase absorption by the peroxide will account for the loss of blue and violet light, known as Wright's phenomenon. The occasional blue-clearing is, then, due to a shift in equilibrium from NO2 to N2O4 owing to a cold wave. During a heat wave the shift will be in the direction of higher concentration of NO2, thus accounting for the yellow clouds, which, at times, may be planet-wide in extent. If this view is correct Mars may be considered as a gigantic photochemical nitrogen-fixation process. Further, the well-known toxic effects of these oxides argue against existence of living organisms on the planet.
- Publication:
-
The Astronomical Journal
- Pub Date:
- 1960
- DOI:
- 10.1086/108077
- Bibcode:
- 1960AJ.....65Q.348K