Discussion on sci.space.science

Alain Fournier wrote:

On Aug/12/2018 at 3:25 AM, Niels Jørgen Kruse wrote :
Alain Fournier wrote:

And Mars being further away from the sun than Earth, one would prefer
having a "thicker blanket" to help control temperatures.

The lower gravity means the blanket is thicker than pressure would
suggest.

Thicker in terms of km. But I don't think that makes it much thicker in
terms of heat retention. I could be wrong but I think that the greater
scale height of Mars' atmosphere (meaning thicker atmosphere in terms of
km) will make convective heat loss slower but have no effect on
radiative heat loss. I also think that most of the heat loss would be
from thermal radiation not from convection, especially so if the
atmosphere is light (meaning low pressure at ground level).

The above is mostly speculation on my part. If anyone has knowledge
above speculation, I would really like you to share. Even if you have
only speculation that would be cool too, just not as much.

Surface gravity on Mars is lower by a factor of 2.64 than that of Earth.
That means you need 2.64 times the mass of atmosphere to create the same
air pressure.

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Mvh./Regards, Niels Jørgen Kruse, Vanløse, Denmark