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Martian Centre of Mass – Centre of Figure Offset

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Abstract

A DIFFERENTIATED crust and possible internal convection are suggested by this first report of a martian centre of mass-centre of figure offset. Martian topography from Earth based radar observations1–3 has been reported for latitudes extending from about 22° N to about 16° S. These observations reveal a gross topography which is relatively insensitive to latitude and which shows variations in excess of 10 km (Fig. 1). Local topographic variations inferred from the Mariner ultraviolet spectrometer observations4 are consistent with the radar data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Planetary and Space Science, University of California, Los Angeles, 90024

    G. SCHUBERT & R. E. LINGENFELTER

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  1. G. SCHUBERT
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  2. R. E. LINGENFELTER
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SCHUBERT, G., LINGENFELTER, R. Martian Centre of Mass – Centre of Figure Offset. Nature 242, 251–252 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/242251a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/242251a0

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