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Questions tagged [geology]

Questions related to processes and principles related to the interior and the solid surface of a planetary body.

2 votes
1 answer
119 views

Is an earth-sized moon orbiting a super-earth feasible?

Is an earth-sized moon orbiting a super-earth feasible? Or would tidal forces say 'no thanks'? I'm making a system for the Kerbal Space Program Kopernicus mod and am trying to make it as realistic as ...
5 votes
1 answer
77 views

What are the effects of mass concentration along a planet's axis of rotation?

Reading about geological history of Mars and coming across the Martian dichotomy, which is about having the two hemispheres' geography differ in elevation by 1 to 3 km. Does this mean that Mars' ...
0 votes
1 answer
227 views

Why don't scientists believe Earth's surface water came up from the mantle?

I read, periodically, that there is more water trapped in the mantle than there is in the oceans - possibly a lot more. If so, why don't any geologists believe that Earth's surface and near-surface ...
2 votes
1 answer
139 views

What discoveries were made thanks to Pioneer orbiter data?

Based on the Wikipedia page Pioneer Venus Orbiter (also known as Pioneer Venus 1, Pioneer 12, 1978-051A) there were quite a few scientific instruments on board. But what scientific results were ...
5 votes
1 answer
312 views

Geological/tectonic/thermal/etc. implications of Rayleigh numbers ≥ 100,000,000

What's a Rayleigh number? Well, it doesn't have anything to do with Rayleigh scattering. Here's a Wikipedia page on this concept, but I believe Elvira Mulyukova's and David Bercovici's Mantle ...
6 votes
1 answer
287 views

What value of density would a planet need to be classified as a mini-Neptune?

EDIT: well, now I have more For reference: A terrestrial planet is a planet that is made out of silicates and metals. A Mini-Neptune is, as far as I know, the smallest type of giant planet (arguably,...
2 votes
0 answers
81 views

Are stagnant-lid Earth analogues guaranteed to become Venus-like?

In our current understanding of Venus, two things are generally accepted: Venus reached its thermal tipping point at least 700 Ma. As the Sun's luminosity gradually increased with age, its average ...
1 vote
0 answers
36 views

What is the elevation of this mesa in Noctis Labyrinthus?

I'm interested in the elevation of this mesa in Noctis Labyrinthus. It's located at -6.3, 265. This image is from https://www.geo.fu-berlin.de/en/geol/fachrichtungen/planet/press/archiv2016/...
7 votes
1 answer
1k views

Is there evidence for galactic "seasons"?

The Solar Year has huge effects on our climate, and the signs of passing seasons are physically evident on Earth. I recently learned about the Galactic Year. To my understanding, our sun orbits the ...
0 votes
1 answer
105 views

In which Indian Institutions can I find Planetary Scientists or Planetary Geologists? [closed]

Which institutions in India provide labs and facilities for research in the field of Planetary Sciences/Planetary Geology?
9 votes
2 answers
9k views

What is the temperature 55 km beneath the surface of Mars?

What is the temperature 55 km (34.18 miles) beneath the surface of Mars? The reason I ask is that I want to know if it might be habitable for a possible future colony if they could dig that deep (...
3 votes
1 answer
142 views

How did the mountain range form in Galle crater?

In the Galle crater, there is a mountain range that is shaped like a circle segment that makes it look like a smiley face. How did this mountain range form? Is it a central ring that formed with the ...
5 votes
1 answer
113 views

Are there any mountains/volcanoes steeper than Tharsis Tholus?

Although Olympus Mons is the tallest mountain in the solar system, its slope is so gradual that the peak cannot be seen from the plain; it is hidden by the planet's curvature (flank slope = 5.2°). The ...
2 votes
3 answers
1k views

Was the young Sun cooler or hotter than it is today?

Generally, astrophysicists say that the young Sun was only about 70% as warm as today, which leads to the alleged 'Faint young Sun paradox' about how a young Earth could have been as warm as it (again,...
4 votes
1 answer
323 views

Why do Venus, Earth, and Mars have tall volcanoes, but the Moon, Mercury, and Io don't?

There are numerous examples of multi-kilometre tall mountains such as Maat mons on Venus, Mauna Kea on Earth, the Tharsis volcanoes on Mars. We don't find similar such examples of volcanic edifices ...

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