Re:Nasa’s InSight Lander Captures Audio of First Likely ‘Qua...
by tbabb on Thursday April 25, 2019 @02:24AM
(#19745543)
Sounds a bit like a rockfall to me, perhaps nearby? The slow buildup and slower subsidence of the sound intuitively fits what I would expect for a rockfall, and also we know there are rockfalls on the surface of Mars. It would be neat if that could be corroborated with surface evidence of a rockfall (I think a few have even been captured by satellite!)
Impulsive quakes on Earth have a characteristic waveform which this does not match: The arrival of a compression wave, followed by a larger shear wave. That waveform wouldn't be much different on another planet, since the shape of the waveform arises from the mechanical properties of rock. If it were not a rockfall, it would have to correspond more to a seismic tremor, which happens more slowly-- I know less about those and I am curious how this matches up.
Having multiple stations would really help to narrow down what the source of sounds like this could be.
Re:Nasa’s InSight Lander Captures Audio of First Likely ‘Qua...
by tbabb on Thursday April 25, 2019 @12:29PM
(#19749769)
This is recorded from vibrations in rock, not in air. There is some sound in the very thin Martian atmosphere, and there is plenty of sound in the Martian crust.
Impulsive quakes on Earth have a characteristic waveform which this does not match: The arrival of a compression wave, followed by a larger shear wave. That waveform wouldn't be much different on another planet, since the shape of the waveform arises from the mechanical properties of rock. If it were not a rockfall, it would have to correspond more to a seismic tremor, which happens more slowly-- I know less about those and I am curious how this matches up.
Having multiple stations would really help to narrow down what the source of sounds like this could be.