- Using data collected over 18 years of observations, scientists now claim that the planet Mars is faltering.
- The hesitation of the planet causes its poles to move regularly.
- The Earth also has an oscillation, but the oscillation of Mars is a little more mysterious than that of the Earth, since Mars has no oceans.
When you think of the planets in our solar system, you probably imagine that they only rotate like peaks. They rarely rotate exactly in line with their orbital plane (the Earth, for example, rotates at an angle of about 24 degrees), but most simple models of the solar system make it look like the planets rotate perfectly. Well, some don’t, and we just discovered that Mars is one of those planets.
In a new article published in Geophysical research letters, scientists reveal that Mars has some hesitation. This means that your poles do not align perfectly all the time, changing in a timeline of about 207 days. This makes Mars the second planet with a known motion (called Chandler wobble). The first? Earth.
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Chandler’s swaying of the Earth has been known for some time, bearing the name of Seth Carlo Chandler, the man who first noticed it in 1891, and there is still some mystery as to how and why. it oscillates as it does. Mars, on the other hand, is even more mysterious, due in large part to all the things the red planet does not have that Earth has.
The origins of the Earth’s oscillation are not fully understood and, theoretically, should have been established over time. However, the fact that the Earth has so much water and a thick atmosphere means that this imbalance can persist indefinitely. Mars, on the other hand, is very different.
A summary of the discovery, made by the authors:
For the first time for any body in the solar system other than Earth, a component of the motion of Mars ’axis of rotation has been detected on the surface of Mars, called the Chandler oscillation. The movement has a period of 206.9 ± 0.5 days, an amplitude of 10 cm at the surface, and is in an almost circular counterclockwise direction, as seen from the North Pole. The movement of the pole is determined from the radio tracking observations of Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and Mars Global Surveyor, in descending order of sensitivity. Chandler rocking detection improves our understanding of mantle energy dissipation by time intervals close to the rocking period.
The hesitation detected on Mars is more subtle than that on Earth, but Mars also has no moving surface water to help maintain motion. Still, Mars has an atmosphere. It is much less robust than that of the Earth, but atmospheric pressure could help maintain oscillation. However, it is likely to end up disappearing altogether, although it is difficult to say how long it would take.
Mike Wehner has reported on technology and video games over the past decade, addressing the latest developments and trends in VR, portable devices, smartphones and future technology. Most recently, Mike worked as a technical editor at The Daily Dot and has appeared on USA Today, Time.com and countless other web and print outlets. His love of reporting is only second to his gambling addiction.