- Using data collected over 18 years of observations, scientists now say that the planet Mars is shaking.
- The agitation of the planet results in the regular movement of its poles.
- The Earth also has an oscillation, but the oscillation on Mars is a little more mystery than the Earth’s, because Mars has no oceans.
When you think of the planets in our solar system, you probably imagine them spinning 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 are spinning perfectly. Well, some don’t, and I just discovered that Mars is one of those planets.
In a new paper published in Geophysical research letters, scientists reveal that Mars has a bit of oscillation. This means that its poles do not align perfectly all the time, passing on a chronology of about 207 days. This makes Mars the second planet with a known motion (called a Chandler swing). The first? Earth.
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The Chandler wobble of the Earth has been known for some time – it is named after Seth Carlo Chandler, the man who noticed the wobble in 1891 – and there is still a mystery about how and why it wobbles as it happens. Mars, on the other hand, is even more mysterious, thanks in large part to all the things that Earth does not have on the Red Planet.
The origins of the Earth’s oscillation are not fully understood and, theoretically, should have been established in 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 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 direction counterclockwise, as seen from the North Pole. The movement of the pole is determined by the tracking radio observations of the Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Global Surveyor, in descending order of sensitivity. Chandler oscillation detection improves our understanding of energy dissipation in the mantle for time intervals near the period of oscillation.
The oscillation detected on Mars is more subtle than that of Earth, but also Mars has no moving surface water to support the motion. However, Mars has an atmosphere. It is much less robust than Earth’s, but atmospheric pressure could help maintain oscillation. However, it is likely to eventually disappear altogether, although it is difficult to say how long this would take.
Mike Wehner has reported on technology and video games over the past decade, covering breaking news and trends in VR, portable devices, smartphones and future technology. Most recently, Mike served as technical editor at The Daily Dot and was featured in USA Today, Time.com, and countless other websites and prints. His love of reporting is second only to gambling addiction.