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Post by valderra on Nov 7, 2006 12:23:06 GMT -5
Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't a planet need to have an atmosphere in order for, say, a spaceship or meteor to burn up in?
It's just that I keep seeing these movies (modern ones at that), where they are trying to land, for example, on Mars, and you see the ship all hot and burning, like you get on re-entry.
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xkamelx
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Post by xkamelx on Nov 7, 2006 16:30:23 GMT -5
Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't a planet need to have an atmosphere in order for, say, a spaceship or meteor to burn up in? It's just that I keep seeing these movies (modern ones at that), where they are trying to land, for example, on Mars, and you see the ship all hot and burning, like you get on re-entry. You're correct. And Mars does has an atmosphere, just a less thick atmosphere then Earth's. It is holding in gasses on the planet, but the gasses are different from Earths; thus the tempature difference and poison if breathed in.
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Post by valderra on Nov 8, 2006 7:51:38 GMT -5
You're correct. And Mars does has an atmosphere, just a less thick atmosphere then Earth's. It is holding in gasses on the planet, but the gasses are different from Earths; thus the tempature difference and poison if breathed in. Aaah... OK. So there is an atmosphere, just not breathable for us, of course, and therefore objects can burn up in that atmosphere. I am probably a little ignorant when it comes to different kinds of atmospheres, because I thought that what makes the atmosphere has to consist of certain gases, as we have on Earth - oxygen being 1 of them.
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Moreta
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Post by Moreta on Nov 8, 2006 13:49:47 GMT -5
Val, an atmosphere is quite simply the layer of gases surrounding a planet. There is no need for the gases to be the same, it is still an atmosphere. However, although the ratios on each planet of different gases are extremely different, the actual gases found are, generally quite similar because all of the terrestrial planets (the small ones near the sun) formed in a very similar way and so the same elements were present.
The only reason Earth has so much oxygen is due to the presence of all our plants converting the carbon dioxide.
Mars on the other hand has a much thinner atmosphere, as Myke mentioned, and yet it is close to the same size as Earth. Surely, you ask, it should have an atmosphere similar in pressure to ours? Mars is in fact much less dense than Earth, so although it is the same size, its gravitational pull is actually about half that of ours and so it has a much smaller ability to hold the gas at its surface without it escaping.
Hope that helps it make a bit more sense for you
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Post by xkamelx on Nov 8, 2006 15:10:49 GMT -5
It is also theorized that Venus was once an Earth-like planet, but due to it's position near the sun it underwent a massive greenhouse effect that transformed it into the hostile, pressure crushing poison world it is today.
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Post by valderra on Nov 9, 2006 7:43:38 GMT -5
It is also theorized that Venus was once an Earth-like planet, but due to it's position near the sun it underwent a massive greenhouse effect that transformed it into the hostile, pressure crushing poison world it is today. Yes, I read that too. And thanks for the explanation, Moreta. For some reason I assumed that, for example, oxygen has to be part of the atmosphere for something to cause friction when an object is racing through it. After all, not all gases cause burns, do they?
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Post by Moreta on Nov 10, 2006 13:30:55 GMT -5
But theres a difference between burning and being hot Val.
For example, red hot metal. It is not burning, there is no flame, but it is extremely hot. The same thing happens with gases. Although yes oxygen is required for a flame it is not required for heat to be produced.
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Post by valderra on Nov 10, 2006 14:19:01 GMT -5
But theres a difference between burning and being hot Val.
For example, red hot metal. It is not burning, there is no flame, but it is extremely hot. The same thing happens with gases. Although yes oxygen is required for a flame it is not required for heat to be produced. Aha !! Now you see, that spaceship that came through Mars' atmosphere was on fire, there was fire all around the spaceship (they were in trouble and didn't get the ship to come in at the right angle). Those flames were the reason I made this thread.
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Post by Moreta on Nov 11, 2006 10:22:25 GMT -5
Yep and Mars' atmosphere does have some oxygen in it, just not the high percentage humans require to survive.
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Post by valderra on Nov 11, 2006 15:59:56 GMT -5
Yep and Mars' atmosphere does have some oxygen in it, just not the high percentage humans require to survive. But enough to light a fart? hahahahahahaha... Sorry, couldn't resist. LOL
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Post by Moreta on Nov 11, 2006 16:07:04 GMT -5
Sometimes I worry about you...
To be perfectly honest, though I know there is a small percentage of oxygen in Mars' atmosphere, Im not certain though if it actually would be enough for a space ship to completely catch flames... or at least, likely not in the way it probably did in whatever film you watched.
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Post by xkamelx on Nov 11, 2006 16:29:16 GMT -5
Hmm, wrong angle, was the movie Mission to Mars?
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Post by valderra on Nov 12, 2006 12:32:08 GMT -5
Hmm, wrong angle, was the movie Mission to Mars? Certainly not. That was a great film. No, this was a 'made for TV' movie, with some unknown actors - C. Thomas Howell being the only known and main actor. They were the first manned crew landing on Mars, but they landed right in the middle of a war on Mars (and the Marsians looked like Vikings). This film was so awful, I didn't even bother watching it for too long. I just did some searching, and the name of the movie is: Crimson Force. Here is the info: www.imdb.com/title/tt0453465/
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Post by xkamelx on Nov 15, 2006 16:50:53 GMT -5
Hmm, wrong angle, was the movie Mission to Mars? Certainly not. That was a great film. No, this was a 'made for TV' movie, with some unknown actors - C. Thomas Howell being the only known and main actor. They were the first manned crew landing on Mars, but they landed right in the middle of a war on Mars (and the Marsians looked like Vikings). This film was so awful, I didn't even bother watching it for too long. I just did some searching, and the name of the movie is: Crimson Force. Here is the info: www.imdb.com/title/tt0453465/I agree, mission to Mars was a great movie. I don't think I've ever heard of Crimson Force, it doesn't sound too good. I'm trying to remember Mission to Mars, if their ship caused the atmosphere to burn. I do know that when Tim Robbins takes off his helmet and dies instantly is not the way it would happen in the vacuum of space. A human being can survive for about 20 or 30 seconds in space before any serious damage takes place, and the cause of death would be asphyxiation
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Post by valderra on Nov 16, 2006 10:22:01 GMT -5
Did he take his helmet off? I honestly can't remember. I thought he was just floating away from the ship, until he got close to the atmosphere, where he disappeared into. And yes, this film is really crap - Crimson Force, that is.
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