Mars' moons, north polar basin, and axial tilt

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baulten

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I was thinking about the recent discovery that Mars had probably been hit by a Pluto-sized planetoid early on in it's history when the idea that that could have been responsible for its axial tilt and moons.  Would it have been possible that the impact caused Mars' early on high axial tilt, and also formed Phobos and Diemos at the same time?  The two moons may have stabilized the planet's tilt and orbital speed much like the Moon did ours.  Similar lengths of days and axial tilt between Earth and Mars seem to hint a common cause, but that might just be in my head.  Opinions?
 
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MeteorWayne

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Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I was thinking about the recent discovery that Mars had probably been hit by a Pluto-sized planetoid early on in it's history when the idea that that could have been responsible for its axial tilt and moons.&nbsp; Would it have been possible that the impact caused Mars' early on high axial tilt, and also formed Phobos and Diemos at the same time?&nbsp; The two moons may have stabilized the planet's tilt and orbital speed much like the Moon did ours.&nbsp; Similar lengths of days and axial tilt between Earth and Mars seem to hint a common cause, but that might just be in my head.&nbsp; Opinions? <br />Posted by baulten</DIV><br /><br />Nah, Phobos and Diemos are WAY too small to have any stabalizing effect. The moon is quite massive compared to the earth. Phobos and Diemos are barely decent sized asteroids (which they may have been at one time) <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>
 
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baulten

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<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Nah, Phobos and Diemos are WAY too small to have any stabalizing effect. The moon is quite massive compared to the earth. Phobos and Diemos are barely decent sized asteroids (which they may have been at one time) <br /> Posted by MeteorWayne</DIV></p><p>I was more thinking over a the very long time span... but you're more than likely correct.&nbsp; If Mars WAS impacted by a pluto sized object, wouldn't that have done some hell to it's rotational period and axial tilt?&nbsp; Would the Sun alone have helped "fix" it?&nbsp; Or would the fact that it was somewhat of a "glancing blow" on the north pole have made it a bit less detrimental as compared to the proto-planet impacting Earth? </p>
 
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MeteorWayne

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Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I was more thinking over a the very long time span... but you're more than likely correct.&nbsp; If Mars WAS impacted by a pluto sized object, wouldn't that have done some hell to it's rotational period and axial tilt?&nbsp; Would the Sun alone have helped "fix" it?&nbsp; Or would the fact that it was somewhat of a "glancing blow" on the north pole have made it a bit less detrimental as compared to the proto-planet impacting Earth? <br />Posted by baulten</DIV><br /><br />Actually, the axial tilt of all planets is chaotic over the life of the sun. It need not be from an impact either. Even just the interactions among all the planets in the solar system is enough to change the angle, and drastically change the rotation rate. The earth moon is a special case since so much of the angular momentum is tied up in the moon. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>
 
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baulten

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<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Actually, the axial tilt of all planets is chaotic over the life of the sun. It need not be from an impact either. Even just the interactions among all the planets in the solar system is enough to change the angle, and drastically change the rotation rate. The earth moon is a special case since so much of the angular momentum is tied up in the moon. <br /> Posted by MeteorWayne</DIV></p><p>I did not know that it would radically change the axial tilt/rotation.&nbsp; I knew there was some variation, but I didn't expect it to be major.&nbsp; Thanks for the info. </p>
 
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