Facts about Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the sun and a planet of great interest to mankind. The more facts about Mars we learn, the more interest grows.
Facts about Mars
Historically, Mars has been considered something of a sister planet to Earth. The relative closeness of the planet and a seeming similarity to Earth has always made it a popular subject for viewing. There is something eerie about Mars, as though it is an example of what can happen to our planet if things go wrong.
In light of its brightness in the sky, it is impossible to know who the first person was to discovery Mars. It has simply always been a constant in the night sky with the red coloring making it stick out from a tapestry of stars. We do know, however, that Mars is named after the Roman god of war. This is most likely due to the red color reminding people of blood.
With its ever-present status, Mars has long been the centerpiece of interest and speculation. In 1659, Syrtis Major was discovered by Christian Huygens, who believed it was an indication of life on the planet. In fact, Syrtis Major simply proved to be a large, dark plain that showed no evidence of life upon closer examination. When viewing the planet through a telescope, it is the large dark spot located at the equator.
In 1877, astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli discovered large lines crossing the planet surface. He surmised these lines were water canals and designed by intelligent life. Ultimately, this claim was discounted when it was discovered the lines were actually huge canyons created by water that existed on Mars billions of years ago.
In 1971, the first NASA mission arrived at Mars. The images sent back by the orbiter, Mariner 9, shocked and excited scientists. The images showed gigantic volcanoes and incredibly deep canyons. Mariner 9 sent back the first images of the now famous Olympus Mons volcano, a beast so large it dwarfs any mid-sized state in the United States.
The orbiter also revealed indications that water had once existed on the surface of Mars. This fact alone created great interest in the planet. Had beings lived on Mars at some point in time? Could humans one day colonize the planet? The science fiction and movie industry never had it so good!
The Mariner mission was followed by the Viking and Pathfinder missions. Each has added to our knowledge of the planet, although it is somewhat sad that many of the myths have been discounted. We have learned the following facts about Mars:
- Mars has a diameter of 4,200 miles, about half of the diameter of Earth.
- Mars is a “lighter” planet than Earth, having only 11 percent of the mass of Earth.
- Mars has a thin atmosphere of primarily carbon dioxide.
- Mars has a volatile temperature range from day to day and minute to minute, with 20-degree changes in few minutes being common.
- Temperatures can range from 80 degrees during the day to 100 degrees below zero at night.
- Mars has planet wide dust storms that can cover the surface for long periods of time.
- The largest canyon on Mars is Valles Marineris, which is 2,500 miles long and as much as 2 miles deep.
- Mars has season similar to the Earth.
- Mars does not appear to have active tectonic plates.
- Much like Earth, Mars has ice caps at the north and south poles. More importantly, the polar caps tend to grow and decrease in size depending upon the season. This would appear to indicate a water creation mechanism, but it is not understood.
- Mars Pathfinder found chemical compositions in rocks that can only be created when water is present, again verifying the planet had vast water deposits at some point in the past.
When considering facts about Mars, the most interesting thing is still what we don’t know. Mars seems to be a planet that has or at least had many of the precursors required for life as found on Earth. More importantly, it appears that at one time Mars may have been very similar to the Earth with great amounts of surface water, if not life.
So what happened? Was there a catastrophic event that rendered Mars a dead planet? Was it hit by an asteroid or did some other major event occur? The more facts about Mars we know, the more the Red Planet mystifies us.
