Mars is the most studied planet in the solar system after Earth, and today it is considered by scientists as a potential planet for human colonization. Mars has always been an object of human interest and is often featured in science fiction films and books.
Mars has long been shrouded in myths and a veil of mystery, and the appearance of a red planet in the sky foreshadowed the approach of war. Because of its red hue, many ancient peoples believed that Mars was covered in blood, which is why it was named after the Roman god of war, Mars.
The true nature of a planet's color is due to the large amount of iron oxide on its surface. In other words, Mars has so much iron that the planet is literally covered in rust. The shade of the planet changes depending on the seasons of the year, of which there are also four on Mars.
Dimensions of Mars and Earth
Info-logo The dimensions of Mars compared to the Earth
Mars is not perfectly spherical and slightly flattened at the poles like Earth. This small flattening is also due to the planet's rotation on its axis.
Mars is the fourth and last planet in the solar system with a rocky surface, the rest of the planets in orbits more distant from the Sun have a gaseous structure.
The Martian day lasts 24 hours 37 minutes, and the orbital period or year is almost twice as long as the Earth's and is 687 days.
Surprisingly, the sunset on Mars is blue.
Craters on Mars with a diameter of more than 60 km are named after deceased scientists, writers and prominent people who contributed to the study of Mars.
Phobos and Deimos
In the myths of ancient Greece, after the god of war Ares (Mars), his sons Deimos and Phobos always fight (the names of the twin gods translate as terror and fear). Therefore, in 1877, the American astronomer Asaf Hall, who discovered the satellites of Mars, in accordance with current astronomical traditions, named them Deimos and Phobos.
Since Mars satellites are irregularly shaped, scientists assume that they could be asteroids captured by Mars by gravity.
Computer simulations have shown that Mars' largest satellite, Phobos, is constantly approaching the planet. In the next 20-40 million years, it will get so close that it will be broken by gravitational forces, and in 100 million years roughly the same ring as Saturn will form from the wreck.
Gravity on Mars is 62.5% lower than on Earth. This means that an astronaut who weighs 80 kg on Earth will only weigh 30 kg on Mars.
In 2013, of the 13 soft landing attempts on Mars, 6 had failed.
In 1997, three Yemeni men tried to sue NASA for invading Mars. They claimed to have inherited the planet from their ancestors 3,000 years ago.
Recent data on orbital flights to Mars indicate that it has an iron core that helps generate a weak magnetic field. Mars' magnetic field is about 800 times weaker than Earth's.
Although scientists have not recorded a volcanic eruption on Mars in real time, Mars has the largest volcano in the solar system - Olympus, which rises 21 km above the surrounding area. The huge mountain was formed by lava flows many millions of years ago.
There are two polar ice caps on Mars, which change in size depending on the seasons. Both Martian ice caps consist of frozen water, but the southern one is always covered in frozen carbon dioxide - dry ice.
Another landmark on Mars is Mariner Valley. This is a huge system of canyons on the planet's equator over 4200 km long, for comparison, the territory of Ukraine from west to east extends over 1316 km.
Few people know that Mars has its own flag. It was developed by NASA engineers and although it has no official status, the flag has already been endorsed by the Mars Society and the Planetary Society. And the flag is already in orbit. It consists of three vertical bands of different colors, which symbolize the future history of Mars. The red stripe is today's planet, and the green (plants) and blue (water) are the next steps in the likely development of Mars by humans.Mars is very hostile to humans, in particular the planet is constantly receiving huge doses of radiation, and the average temperature on the planet is -63 ° C. There is a very thin atmosphere, the pressure on the planet is so low that a person without a special suit will die very quickly. Also on Mars, incredibly powerful dust storms periodically occur with wind speeds of over 120 miles per hour, which can last for several months and cover the entire planet.
18 янв 2022
