The origin and specific features of the martian satellites in the context of the euruption concept

Abstract

The numerous problems related to the origin and evolution of Phobos and Deimos, as well as to specific features of their topography, are readily accounted for in the context of a concept presupposing the possibility of detonation (or burning) of electrolyzed ices.The explosion of an 'icy' asteroid of rnass mA -> Id3 g within the gravitational sphere of Mars resulted in the capture of secondary fragments into satellite orbits and the formation of a ring of icy and rocky particles. The motion of satellites in the ring reduced the eccentricities of their orbits and rendered their mutual collisions impossible. The thick regolith of Deimos is the material captured from the ring.The impact responsible for the Stickney crater on Phobos initiated a detonation in the material in the crater, and the detonation, in its turn, ignited the products of electrolysis in the bulk of the satellite. Phobos lost its regolith because of detonation-induced acceleration. As a result of the burning out of Phobos's ices, its density somewhat exeeds that of Deimos.Different grooves on Phobos have differing origins. The grooves of groups B, E, D (as specified by P.Thomas et a/., J. Geophys. Res., 84, 1979) are due to fracturing caused by the Sickney event;group C (which is normal to the minor axis of the Phobos ellipsoid) reflects the layered nature of the parent asteroid; while the closely arranged group A grooves, which are normal to Phobos's major axis, were formed during the contraction of the satellite as a result of the loss of burnt-out ices. A number of conclusions are drawn which can be tested by future missions to the satellites.

Deep Impactmission to Tempel 1 favours New Explosive Cosmogony of comets

“…One cannot exclude the possibility that forced detonation will transform to deflagration, i.e., detonation-initiated non-shock low-pressure combustion of material. In this case, the outflow of combustion products from the crater would tail out, and we would become witnesses to (i) formation of jets of material emanating even on the night side of the nucleus, and (ii) a gradual increase in crater size (not so fast as the one caused by the impact) accompanied by the appearance of burnt-out grooves where the content of combustibles was originally enhanced (recall the Stickney crater on the burnt-out Phobos (Drobyshevski 1988a) and possibly similar large craters on minor low-density bodies (Thomas 1999)).…”

“…This approach permits one to explain and relate many astrophysical aspects, starting with the origin and properties of asteroids (Drobyshevski 1980a(Drobyshevski , 1997bDrobyshevski et al 1994a) and of many small planetary satellites (Agafonova & Drobyshevski 1985;Drobyshevski 1988a), specific features in the structure and differences of the Galilean satellites (Drobyshevski 1980b), of Titan with its orbital eccentricity and thick atmosphere and Saturn's rings (Drobyshevski 2000, and refs. therein), and ending with comets and the fine features of their manifestations and chemistry (Drobyshevski 1988b).…”

Post-Perijove splitting and Lithium overabundance in Shoemaker-Levy 9 favor its planetary origin

“…It is reasonable that, in explosive splitting of the nucleus, smaller fragments should immediately acquire much higher velocity than the larger ones, which is difficult to explain in terms of the tidal model. Eventually, all the large fragments lost all their volatiles, including water, as it happened with Phobos after combustion was initiated there by the Stickney impact (Drobyshevski, 1988a). Therefore, by the moment of discovery, no traces of water could be found in SL-9 (Weaver et al, 1994).…”

“…This is easily understood if the nucleus is assumed to be a fragment of icy envelope of a Ganymede-like body, which, on the one hand, has been subjected to a large-scale solid-state convection and, on the other hand, has experienced geochemical differentiation. Traces of such a primary local layered structure ("crater chains" or "veins") can be seen at Phobos (Drobyshevski, 1988a), and it is along the outcrops of such layers that the sources of the outflowing gas jets travel on the surface of the nucleus (Sekanina and Larson, 1986;Sekanina, 1987). A strong inhomogeneity in the distribution of combustible compounds in the cometary ices, together with the possibility of their being ignited by solar radiation, sheds light on ways of solving the problem of "how the discrete regions on the nucleus become activated" (Sekanina, 1990).…”