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Astronomy/MPa & kPa
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Question
Which is considered a higher unit of surface pressure: MPa or kPa?
I found out that Mars has a surface pressure of 0.6-1.0 kPa while Venus has a surface pressure of 9.3 MPa. Which planet has a higher surface pressure compared to Earth?
Hi, Abigail. MPa's are 1,000 times more than kPa's, as in any M to k relationship in the metric system
In the metric system, a 'k' means 1,000. An 'M' means 1,000,000. The case, or the capitalization of the prefix letter in the term Pa and M or m, etc, is very important. Big M means Mega and little m means milli. The Earth's sea-level pressure is about 100 kPa. Mars is about 1 kPa and Venus is about 9.3 MPa.
The metric system has a convention for the prefixes in their measurements. In scientific notation, a basic unit like the Pascal will preceded by a prefix that changes it value in multiples of ten if the measure of the unit is more that ten or less than 1 or 0.1 the value of the whole units. The hierarchy of the prefixes and abbreviations and full names and the their values at common quantities are in the table below , which I typed out from memory and is free from copyright restrictions.
G = Giga = 1,000,000,000 billion
M = Mega = 1,000,000 million
k = kilo = 1,000 thousand
c = centi = 0.01 one-hundredth
m = milli = 0.001 one-thousandth
Earth's surface pressure is 101 kPa, which is less that of Venus by a factor of about 93, and
greater than Mars by a factor of 100 or more. So the atmospheric pressure on the surface of Venus is over 90 times that of Earth, and 9,300 to 15,500 that of Mars.
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Jesse Martinez
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General and specific questions about the solar system and stellar and galactic astronomy, are what I can easily answer off the top of my head. For example, what is the largest planet in the solar system? How far away is the moon? Have there been any confirmed planets in orbit around stars other than the sun? How many stars are there? The tougher ones like explaining the big bang theory and black holes I will leave to the PhD’s. Even though I could muster an answer, I would have to research it more than I would like. I would also like to answer questions that involve Astronomy with other sciences, chemistry, biology, physics, geology and mathematics as long as they are not PhD level.
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I have been into astronomy since I was 8 years old. I have kept detailed journals of my observations through small telescopes. Over the years I have participated in amateur observation projects for organizations like ALPO. My personal research has involved "discovering" the moons of Jupiter with a 4½-inch Newtonian reflector without any outside information like charts and tables. In a summer long project, I determined the existence of and plotted the orbits of the four major moons of Jupiter. From these observations, my data on orbital elements was surprisingly accurate (orbital radius and orbital period).
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80 hours of college credits while studying physics and geophysics. Completed correspondence photography course while in high school. Took two semesters of electronics training at a community college. Studied computers and graduated from a technical school at the turn of the millennium, gaining A+ and Microsoft Certified Professional credentials.
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