Quick Mars Facts
Mars Needs Moms - Quick Mars Facts!
| • Mars was formed about 4.5 billion years ago |
| • Mars is only half the size of Earth. Only the seventh largest planet in our solar system |
| • The largest canyon on Mars would stretch from the UK to Africa |
| • Mars' seasons are twice as long as those on Earth because it takes Mars 687 days to orbit the sun, twice as long as Earth's 365-day journey. A day on Mars is known as a "sol" |
| • Mars' red colour is due to iron oxide |
| • Mars is called the ‘Red Planet' because it has red soil and a pink sky. It's pink because it has a thinner atmosphere than Earth, and iron oxide dust in the air absorbs blue light and scatters the other wavelengths of visible light |
| • The Olympus Mons, a 550 km wide dormant volcano, is the largest volcano in the solar system and covers an area about the size of England. And it's 27 km high! |
| • The month of March is named after Mars |
| • No human could survive the low pressure of Mars. If you went to Mars without an appropriate space suit, the oxygen in your blood would literally turn into bubbles, killing you immediately! |
| • Many ancient people believed the reddish colour of Mars came from actual blood on the planet |
| • The Egyptians gave Mars its first recorded name: Har dècher (“The red one”). The Babylonians called it Nergal (“Star of death”). The Greeks and Romans named the planet after their respective gods of war, Ares and Mars. The Hebrews called it Ma'adim, or “One who blushes.” |
| • If you were going at 60 mph, it would take 271 years to get to Mars from Earth |
| • Mars has the largest and most violent dust storms in our entire solar system. These storms often have winds topping 125 mph, can last for weeks, and can cover the entire planet. They usually occur when Mars is closest to the sun |
| • Only 1/3 of spacecrafts sent to Mars have been successful, leading some scientists to wonder if there is a Martian “Bermuda triangle” that eats spacecraft |
| • In 1976, Viking I photographed a mountain area on Mars that had the appearance of a massive human face. Many individuals and organizations interested in extraterrestrial life argued that intelligent beings created the “Face.” |
| • Mars' moon Phobos (fear) rises in the west and sets in the east—twice a day. Deimos (panic), on the other hand, takes 2.7 days to rise in the east and set in the west. Mars' moons are so named because the twin gods—panic and fear—accompanied Ares (or Mars) into battle |
• Mars has 37.5% of the gravity that Earth has. This means that a 100-pound person on Earth would weigh only 38 pounds on Mars and could jump three times as high • The average temperature on Mars is –81° and can range from –205° in the winter to 72° Fahrenheit in the summer. • The unofficial names of many rocks on the surface of Mars are easy-going names, such as Barnacle Bill, Yogi, Pop-Tart, Shark, Half Dome, Moe, Stimpy, and Cabbage Patch. Scientists chose these names because they were convenient to remember • There has been strong evidence, mainly in the form of channels, valleys, and gullies, that Mars once had water flowing on its surface. |