SUN
The Sun experiences "Sunquakes."
A solar flare is an enormous explosion
of hydrogen and helium above the sun's surface. A solar flare
can cause a huge ripple to spread across the surface of the Sun.
Scientists discovered sunquakes using
data from the SOHO spacecraft. Specifically, the spacecraft recorded
a solar flare on July 9, 1996. This flare generated a quake that
contained about 40,000 times the energy released in the 1906
San Francisco earthquake.
Further information about sunquakes is given in these newsletters:
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MOON
the Moon experiences "moonquakes."
During several of the Apollo missions,
astronauts set up seismic instruments on the lunar surface to
measure moonquake activity. The data from these instruments revealed
that the Moon is very reverberant, with oscillations continuing
for one hour or longer.
The astronauts themselves intentionally
generated moonquakes by a variety of
means.
For example, the Apollo 12 astronauts
crashed their lunar module into
lunar surface after the astronauts had reunited in the command
module.
The Apollo 14 astronauts, Shepard and
Mitchell, performed a seismic experiment in which they detonated
13 small charges on the lunar surface. They used geophones to
measure the resulting reverberation.
Further information about moonquakes is given in this newsletter: March 2002
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MARS
Viking 2 was launched on September 9,
1975. It reached Martian orbit on
August 7, 1976. Its lander touched down on the Martian surface
on September
3, 1976. The landing site was called Utopia Planitia.
Viking 2 had a seismometer which was able
to measure a "Marsquake."
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