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Martian Moons
The two moons of Mars are Phobos and Deimos. They are irregular in shape. Both were discovered by American astronomer Asaph Hall in August 1877 and are named after the Greek mythological twin characters Phobos (fear and panic) and Deimos (terror and dread) who accompanied their father Ares into battle. Ares, god of war, was known to the Romans as Mars. Compared to the Earth's Moon, the moons Phobos and Deimos are small. Phobos has a diameter of 22.2 km (13.8 mi) and a mass of 1.08 kg, while Deimos measures 12.6 km (7.8 mi) across, with a mass of 2.0 kg. Phobos orbits closer to Mars, with a semi-major axis of and an orbital period of 7.66 hours; while Deimos orbits farther with a semi-major axis of and an orbital period of 30.35 hours. History Early speculation Speculation about the existence of the moons of Mars had begun when the moons of Jupiter were discovered. When Galileo Galilei, as a hidden report about his having observed two bumps on the side ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phobos (moon)
Phobos (; astronomical naming conventions, systematic designation: ) is the innermost and larger of the two moons of Mars, natural satellites of Mars, the other being Deimos (moon), Deimos. The two moons were discovered in 1877 by American astronomer Asaph Hall. It is named after Phobos (mythology), Phobos, the Greek mythology, Greek god of fear and panic, who is the son of Ares (Mars) and twin brother of Deimos (deity), Deimos. Phobos is a small, irregularly shaped object with a mean radius of . Phobos orbits from the Martian surface, closer to its Primary (astronomy), primary body than any other known Natural satellite, planetary moon. It is so close that it orbits Mars much faster than Mars rotates, and completes an orbit in just 7 hours and 39 minutes. As a result, from the surface of Mars it appears to rise in the west, move across the sky in 4 hours and 15 minutes or less, and set in the east, twice each Mars sol, Martian day. Phobos is one of the least reflective bodie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Galileo Galilei
Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was born in the city of Pisa, then part of the Duchy of Florence. Galileo has been called the "father" of observational astronomy, modern physics, the scientific method, and modern science. Galileo studied speed and velocity, gravity and free fall, the principle of relativity, inertia, projectile motion and also worked in applied science and technology, describing the properties of pendulums and "hydrostatic balances". He invented the thermoscope and various military compasses, and used the telescope for scientific observations of celestial objects. His contributions to observational astronomy include telescopic confirmation of the phases of Venus, observation of the four largest satellites of Jupiter, observation of Saturn's rings, and a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Planetary Geology
Planetary geology, alternatively known as astrogeology or exogeology, is a planetary science discipline concerned with the geology of the celestial bodies such as the planets and their moons, asteroids, comets, and meteorites. Although the geo- prefix typically indicates topics of or relating to Earth, planetary geology is named as such for historical and convenience reasons; due to the types of investigations involved, it is closely linked with Earth-based geology. These investigations are centered around the composition, structure, processes, and history of a planet. Planetary geology includes such topics as determining the properties and processes of the internal structure of the terrestrial planets, and also looks at planetary volcanism and surface processes such as impact craters, fluvial and aeolian processes. The structures and compositions of the giant planets and their moons are also examined, as is the make-up of the minor bodies of the Solar System, such as aster ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Voltaire (crater)
Voltaire is an impact crater on Mars's moon Deimos and is approximately across. Voltaire crater is named after François-Marie Arouet, a French Enlightenment writer who was better known by the pen name Voltaire, who in his 1752 short story " Micromégas" predicted that Mars had two moons. Voltaire crater is one of two named features on Deimos, the other being Swift crater. On 10 July 2006, Mars Global Surveyor took an image of Deimos from away showing Voltaire crater and Swift crater. Impact According to a 2016 study by Nayak et al, the impact that created Voltaire was sufficient to cause large amounts of ejecta that remained in Mars orbit for several hundred years, before a substantial amount of it collided back with Deimos. These impacts were theorised by this study to have been potentially extensive enough to resurface large areas of Deimos, which complicates efforts to accurately date the moon's surface. See also * Swift (Deimian crater) * Moons of Mars * Phobos (moo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swift (Deimian Crater)
Swift crater is a crater on Mars's moon Deimos. It is about in diameter. Swift crater is named after Jonathan Swift, whose 1726 book ''Gulliver's Travels'' predicted the existence of two moons of Mars. Swift crater is one of two named features on Deimos, the other being Voltaire crater. On 10 July 2006, Mars Global Surveyor took an image of Deimos from away showing Swift crater. See also * Voltaire (crater) * Moons of Mars * Phobos (moon) * Deimos (moon) Deimos ( systematic designation: Mars II) is the smaller and outermost of the two natural satellites of Mars, the other being Phobos. Of similar composition to C and D-type asteroids, Deimos has a mean radius of and takes 30.3 hours to ... References {{crater-stub Deimos (moon) Impact craters on Mars's moons Jonathan Swift ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Micromégas
''Le Micromégas'' is a 1752 novella by the French philosopher and satirist Voltaire. Along with his story "Plato's Dream", it is an early example in the literary genre of science fiction and has its place in the development of the history of literature. Some uncertainty surrounds the first publication of ''Micromégas'', with possible editions dating to 1751 or as early as 1739, but with the widely accepted publication being 1752. The tale recounts the visit to Earth of a being from a planet circling the star Sirius, and of his companion from the planet Saturn. The technique of using an outsider to comment on aspects of Western culture was popular in this period; Voltaire also used it in ''Zadig''. Montesquieu, too, applied it in ''Persian Letters'', as did José Cadalso in ''Cartas marruecas'' and Tomás Antônio Gonzaga in '' Cartas Chilenas''. Plot The story is organized into seven brief chapters. The first describes Micromégas, whose name literally means "small-large" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—especially Criticism of the Catholic Church, of the Roman Catholic Church—and of slavery. Voltaire was an advocate of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and separation of church and state. Voltaire was a versatile and prolific writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including stageplay, plays, poems, novels, essays, histories, and scientific Exposition (narrative), expositions. He wrote more than 20,000 letters and 2,000 books and pamphlets. Voltaire was one of the first authors to become renowned and commercially successful internationally. He was an outspoken advocate of civil liberties and was at constant risk from the strict censorship laws of the Catholic French monarchy. His polemics ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Arbuthnot
John Arbuthnot FRS (''baptised'' 29 April 1667 – 27 February 1735), often known simply as Dr Arbuthnot, was a Scottish physician, satirist and polymath in London. He is best remembered for his contributions to mathematics, his membership in the Scriblerus Club (where he inspired both Jonathan Swift's ''Gulliver's Travels'' book III and Alexander Pope's ''Peri Bathous, Or the Art of Sinking in Poetry'', ''Memoirs of Martin Scriblerus,'' and possibly ''The Dunciad''), and for inventing the figure of John Bull. Biography In his mid-life, Arbuthnot, complaining of the work of Edmund Curll, among others, who commissioned and invented a biography as soon as an author died, said, "Biography is one of the new terrors of death," and so a biography of Arbuthnot is made difficult by his own reluctance to leave records. Alexander Pope noted to Joseph Spence that Arbuthnot allowed his infant children to play with, and even burn, his writings. Throughout his professional life, Arbu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never far from the Sun, either as morning star or evening star. Aside from the Sun and Moon, Venus is the brightest natural object in Earth's sky, capable of casting visible shadows on Earth at dark conditions and being visible to the naked eye in broad daylight. Venus is the second largest terrestrial object of the Solar System. It has a surface gravity slightly lower than on Earth and has a very weak induced magnetosphere. The atmosphere of Venus, mainly consists of carbon dioxide, and is the densest and hottest of the four terrestrial planets at the surface. With an atmospheric pressure at the planet's surface of about 92 times the sea level pressure of Earth and a mean temperature of , the carbon dioxide gas at Venus's surface is in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laputa
Laputa uh·poo·tuhis a flying island described in the 1726 book ''Gulliver's Travels'' by Jonathan Swift. It is about in diameter, with an adamantine base, which its inhabitants can manoeuvre in any direction using magnetic levitation. The island is the home of the king of Balnibarbi and his court, and is used by the king to enforce his rule over the lands below. Location Laputa was located above the realm of Balnibarbi, which was ruled by its king from the flying island. Gulliver states the island flew by the “magnetic virtue” of certain minerals in the grounds of Balnibarbi which did not extend to more than above, and beyond the extent of the kingdom, showing the limit of its range. The position of the island, and the realm below, is some five days' journey south-south-east of Gulliver's last known position, 46° N, 183° E (i.e. east of Japan, south of the Aleutian Islands) down a chain of small rocky islands. Description The island of Laputa is described as be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gulliver's Travels
''Gulliver's Travels'', or ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'' is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift, satirising both human nature and the "travellers' tales" literary subgenre. It is Swift's best known full-length work, and a classic of English literature. Swift claimed that he wrote ''Gulliver's Travels'' "to vex the world rather than divert it". The book was an immediate success. The English dramatist John Gay remarked: "It is universally read, from the cabinet council to the nursery." In 2015, Robert McCrum released his selection list of 100 best novels of all time in which ''Gulliver's Travels'' is listed in third place as "a satirical masterpiece". Plot Part I: A Voyage to Lilliput The travel begins with a short preamble in which Lemuel Gulliver gives a brief outline of his life and history before his voyages. ;4 May ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish Satire, satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whig (British political party), Whigs, then for the Tories (British political party), Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean (Christianity), Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, hence his common sobriquet, "Dean Swift". Swift is remembered for works such as ''A Tale of a Tub'' (1704), ''An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity'' (1712), ''Gulliver's Travels'' (1726), and ''A Modest Proposal'' (1729). He is regarded by the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' as the foremost prose satirist in the English language, and is less well known for his poetry. He originally published all of his works under pseudonyms—such as Lemuel Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, M. B. Drapier—or anonymously. He was a master of two styles of satire, the Satire#Classifications, Horatian and Juvenalian styles. His deadpan, ironic writing style, partic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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