On Mars, noises sound different than normal. Since Mars’s temperature is extremely cold, it causes your teeth to rattle. The cause, the planet’s thin air is also behind the weirdness of sound. Because of the thin atmosphere, carbon dioxide doesn’t carry the noises well. In fact, a person speaking right next to you would sound more like if they were talking to you at a distance of 60 meters. Planetary scientist Nina Lanza explains that “the air on Mars is really different than the air on Earth, so it vibrates really differently. The air on Mars is a lot less dense and it’s made entirely of carbon dioxide.”
Starting in 2021, the team of NASA scientist Baptiste Chide researched the sounds on Mars using a microphone onboard the rover Perseverance. The sounds Perseverance produced were like thunderbolts in the distance, captured by zapping tiny rocks. Afterwards, Chide’s colleagues studied the sound waves for 5 hours and measured the speed of sound using the data. An unexpected result was that a high-pitched sound causes the noises moves around 250 meters per second while low sounds travel around of 240 meters per second.
The sound on earth travels at 343 meters per seconds on average, far faster than on Mars. Scientists believe this difference is due to the lower atmosphere pressure on our planet. Sound air pressure, temperature, humidity, and weather all impact the sound waves on both Mars and Earth.
Sound waves are only just the beginning. Mars is a mysterious place, and there may be many more things we can learn from the red planet.
Link: https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/noises-sound-totally-different-on-mars-than-on-earth-heres-why
Starting in 2021, the team of NASA scientist Baptiste Chide researched the sounds on Mars using a microphone onboard the rover Perseverance. The sounds Perseverance produced were like thunderbolts in the distance, captured by zapping tiny rocks. Afterwards, Chide’s colleagues studied the sound waves for 5 hours and measured the speed of sound using the data. An unexpected result was that a high-pitched sound causes the noises moves around 250 meters per second while low sounds travel around of 240 meters per second.
The sound on earth travels at 343 meters per seconds on average, far faster than on Mars. Scientists believe this difference is due to the lower atmosphere pressure on our planet. Sound air pressure, temperature, humidity, and weather all impact the sound waves on both Mars and Earth.
Sound waves are only just the beginning. Mars is a mysterious place, and there may be many more things we can learn from the red planet.
Link: https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/noises-sound-totally-different-on-mars-than-on-earth-heres-why
