Facts about Mars

 Welcome to Amazing facts! We are so close to home on our journey through the solar system, but there’s just one last stop to make before flying to Mother Earth – and that’s Mars. This red beauty sits 4th closest to the sunand brings with it so many interesting facts… but we only have room for ten, so sit back,and be sure to check your oxygen levels as we visit the planet of Mars.

1. Distance from the Sun Though Mars is only the fourth planet fromthe sun, it still sits at a rather distant average of 141 million miles or 227 millionkilometers from the Sun. In relation to our positioning, Mars is approximately 49 millionmiles or 78 million kilometers further than we are. Of course, all of this is not constant,considering Mars’ orbital pattern, which is more elliptical in shape, one of the moreunique orbits in our solar system. At its furthest point from the sun, or at its aphelion,the red planet is approximately 154 million miles or 249 million kilometers away fromthe sun, while during perihelion, or closest point, Mars will be 128 million miles or 206million kilometers away.  

9. A Distinguished Color The surface of the Martian planet is a rather distinguished reddish color, quite similarto the color of rust; and the reason may actually be quite similar to why rust looks as it does.The largest factor in behind Mars’ red hue is the high levels of iron oxide found inits surface material. What still perplexes us is how so much of the iron became oxidizedin an atmosphere comprised of only .146% oxygen. Scientists point to several theories, includingrainstorms in Mars’ younger years, a billion years of sunlight breaking down carbon dioxideinto oxidants, or heavy dust storms breaking down quartz crystals to expose oxygen-richsurfaces. 

8. Naming the Red Planet Being so bright and rather quite noticeable, there’s really no one person or civilizationhonored with being the first to see it. There are, however, those that first recorded sightingof the red planet, and high on that list were the ancient Egyptians, who dubbed the planet“Her Desher”, or “the red one”. Though we know it more commonly by the same nameas the Roman God of War, Mars has several different monikers. Like the Romans, Greeceassociated the red planet with their God of War, Ares, while East Asian cultures considerit the “fire star.” Mars was first observed via telescope sometime in 1609 or 1610 bynone other than Galileo Galilei. 

 7. The 2 Moons: Phobos and DeimosPulling from popular mythology, Phobos and Deimos were the sons of the Greek God of War,Ares. The moons were discovered 6 days apart in August of 1877 by astronomer Asaph Hall,who was also responsible for determining the mass of the red planet. In terms of size,the two moons are considerably small, with Phobos coming in at 13 miles or 22 kilometersacross and Deimos at 7 miles or 12 kilometers across. Relative to Earth’s moon, Mars'moons are about 1/200th the size of ours; however, Deimos is 20 times closer to Marsthan our Moon is to earth, orbiting at a close 12,470 miles or 20,069 kilometers away.

6. A Martian Day Traveling throughout the solar system, youmay have started to notice this trend: planets all have unique daily cycles. Mars is no different,but it actually has a daily cycle quite similar to Earth’s. One solar day on Mars is equaledto just under 24 hours and 40 minutes on Earth, but when we extend our timeframe, we findthat a Martian year is around 686 Earth days long. Both Earth and Mars share a similaraxial tilt and rotation period, which accounts for the small 39-minute difference. One Martiansolar day is known as a “sol,” and this is how landing missions designate each dayspent on the derelict planet. 

5. Climate and a Most Unusual Winter The similar rotation to Earth also means that Mars has four different seasons, though theorbital path is more oval than round, meaning that the lengths of these seasons are quitedifferent. When put side-by-side with the other 8 planets, Mars has a rather strangeweather pattern seen nowhere else – Martian snow - as water-ice snow has also been knownto fall upon Mars’ surface. In relation to weather that we’re used to, Mars is quitecolder than our home planet, with temperatures reaching an average of -80° F or -62° C,but can fluctuate between a bone-chilling -195° F or -125° C, to a very comfortable70° F or 20° C towards the equator during the day. Depending on proximity to the sun,both the southern and northern hemispheres are subject to very short summers or winters.

4. Quite the Dusty Planet On top of unusual weather phenomenon, Marsis also quite the dust ball. Hollywood tends to depict the surface of Mars as being anexpansive desert with large dust storms, but that’s not just for production value. It’sbelieved that a combination of volcanic eruptions, landslides, wind abrasion, impacts, and thesurface’s overall dryness have attributed to the high level of dust. With such highlevels of dust, it’s not uncommon for solar heating to warm the atmosphere, especiallywithin the Hellas Basin, where temperatures are slightly warmer, which kick off the beginningsof a rather nasty storm. Within hours, a storm can form and within days, it can be a massive,planet-spanning cell that leaves the air fogged with dust residue for weeks after.

3. Polar Caps Due to its red color, we often think of Marsas this red hot ball, but it is so far from that. In fact, Mars is home to two permanentice caps. The north and south polar caps differ slightly from Earth’s own caps in that theyare partially comprised of ice formed by carbon dioxide, otherwise known as dry ice, whichwould make sense considering Mars' atmosphere is 95.32% Carbon dioxide. Mars’ North polarcap is made mostly of ice formed by water, with a thin layer of dry ice that dissipatesand reappears seasonally. The smaller, South cap differs from its northerly counterpartin that it’s not as flat and contains large pits and troughs that have appeared due toerosion.

 2. Spiders From MarsIt’s a great concept for a terrible SyFy movie and was an even better name for DavidBowie’s 5th studio album, but as of early 2016, Spiders from Mars is a real interestto the people of NASA. Alright, so we’re not really talking about 8-legged creepy crawlies,but rather a series of formations on the red planet that NASA personnel have dubbed spiders.The formations are troughs created every spring as the terrain erodes during the change ofthe ice cap from ice to vapor. The term “spider’ stems from the shape of the trough, whichis created as gas flows beneath the ice to find an opening.

1. Olympus Mons and Valles Marineris Along with spiders, strange weather, and aheaping of dust, Mars is also home to the largest volcano and one of the largest canyonsin the solar system. Olympus Mons puts to shame even our highest pique, Mount Everest;beating its elevation by three times. Theories state that the giant volcano was able to formon Mars due to lower surface gravity and higher eruption rates, two factors that would aidin creating the oversized ticking time bomb.

 Valles Marineris may not have the explosivepower that Olympus Mons does, but its 2,500 mile or 4,000 kilometer length puts to shamethe Grand Canyon, which comes in at 277 miles or 446 kilometers long, while comparing depths,Valles Marineris can be 6 times deeper than the grand canyon in certain parts. Scientiststoday believe that Valles Marineris was created during the formation of the Tharsis region,which is home to volcanoes like Olympus Mons.