Physics
Scientific paper
Nov 1967
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1967saosr.258.....p&link_type=abstract
SAO Special Report #258 (1967)
Physics
4
Scientific paper
The physical parameters that influence the photometric and polarimetric properties of a solid are enumerated and used to guide a comparison of laboratory measurements with observations of Mars. Both the bright and the dark areas of Mars are found to be covered by a fine powder. Furthermore, they appear to have a very similar chemical composition. It is argued that goethite is a major constituent of both regions. The particles on the bright areas are characterized by an average particle radius of 25 μ, while those on the dark areas have a mean size of 100 μ outside the period of seasonal darkening and about 200 μ near the peak of the darkening. The seasonal darkening of the dark areas is the result of a change in the average particle dimension without an accompanying chemical change. The Martian atmosphere has much less of an influence on the photometric and polarimetric observations than was previously supposed. The observed lack of contrast in the blue appears to be largely the result of an intrinsic loss of surface contrast, and not an effect of a hypothetical atmospheric blue haze.
Pollack James B.
Sagan Carl
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