Utopia Planitia

Utopia Planitia
/pleuh nee"sheuh/
Astron. a plain in the northern hemisphere of Mars that was the landing site of the Viking II space probe on September 3, 1976.

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 northern lava plain on the planet Mars that was selected as the landing site of the U.S. Viking 2 planetary probe. Photographs transmitted from the Viking 2 lander, which touched down at 47.97° N, 225.74° W, on September 3, 1976, depicted a boulder-strewn plain that superficially resembles the Viking 1 landing site in Chryse Planitia. Soil-sample analyses conducted by the landers show that the soils at the two sites are nearly identical in composition, which is probably the result of a mixing of windblown dust from wide regions of the planet. The Utopia plain differs from the Chryse area in that it has a system of shallow troughs, which may be associated with ice-wedge activity as a result of permafrost. Vesicular boulders—i.e., those with small gas-formed pits, indicative of a volcanic origin—observed by the lander at the Utopia site may be either local lavas or rocks ejected from the nearby impact crater Mie.

      Images from the Viking 2 lander showed the persistence of a thin layer of white ground frost, composed of water ice, for about 100 days during each of the two Martian winters observed. The frost is probably first precipitated together with carbon dioxide, which then sublimes in the sunlight, leaving only the water portion.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Utopia Planitia — Givre sur le sol d Utopia Planitia vu par Viking 2 Lander. Géographie Géologie Coordonnées 49,7° N • 118° E [ …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Utopia Planitia — MarsGeo Plains name=Utopia Planitia caption=PIA00571: Ice on Mars Utopia Planitia Again (NASA/JPL) location=northeast of Isidis Planitia, northwest of Aetheria latitude=49.7 N or S=N longitude=118.0 E or W=E area= discoverer naming=Utopia… …   Wikipedia

  • Utopia Planitia — Tiefebene auf Mars Utopia Planitia Blick vom Lander Viking 2 auf die Tiefebene Utopia …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Utopia Planitia — Imagen de Utopia Planitia en las proximidades del punto de aterrizaje de la nave Viking 2, mayo de 1978. Utopia Planitia (en latín «llanura de ningún lugar») es una extensa llanura (planitia) localizada en el hemisferio norte del planeta Marte,… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Utopia Planitia — /pleuh nee sheuh/ Astron. a plain in the northern hemisphere of Mars that was the landing site of the Viking II space probe on September 3, 1976 …   Useful english dictionary

  • Planitia — (pluriel planitiae) est un mot d origine latine désignant une surface plate, une plaine. Il est utilisé sur Mars pour décrire une plaine basse ou une grande étendue sans reliefs. Ce type de formation s oppose par conséquent aux hauts plateaux ou… …   Wikipédia en Français

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  • Utopia Glacier — (coord|71|51|S|68|16|W|type:glacier region:AQ|display=inline,title) is a glacier encircled by Mariner Hill, Syrtis Hill, Natal Ridge, and Ares Cliff; the feature was named for Utopia Planitia on the planet Mars, which was the landing site of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Elysium Planitia — Volcans d Elysium Planitia. De haut en bas : Hecates Tholus, Elysium Mons et Albor Tholus. Géographie Géologie Coordonnées …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Isidis Planitia — est un bassin d impact situé sur Mars à l est de Syrtis Major Planum et en bordure d Utopia Planitia. Centré par 12,9° N et 87,0° E et s étendant sur 1 200 km, il s agit de la troisième plus grande structure d impact sur Mars …   Wikipédia en Français

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