| Mars: The Red Planet By: Adam and Steven | |||||||||||||||||
| Basic Information |
The Location Of Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the sun. It is the seventh largest planet. It is 227,940,000 kilometers from the sun. The diameter of Mars is 6,794 kilometers. Mars revolves around the sun in an oval-shaped ring. It takes about 687 earth days to make a full revolution. It rotates on an axis of about 24 degrees from a perpendicular position. Mars makes a full rotation every 24 hours and 37 minutes. The Features Of The Red Planet Mars is considered the red planet because of its bright red color. The temperature ranges from -220 degrees Fahrenheit to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Mars is thought to have no magnetic field. It uses the greenhouse effect which raises the temperature about 5 degrees. It has a very thin atmosphere made of 95.3% carbon dioxide, 2.7% nitrogen, 1.6% argon, 0.15% oxygen, and 0.03% water. The Colors Of Mars The surface of the red planet can be seen in detail from Earth. The rust colored portions are thought to be desert-like regions. The greenish regions are thought to be the seas of Mars. Small amounts of water have been found, but not enough to support our needs. The first visit to Mars was in 1965 when Olympus Mons was discovered. It is the largest mountain in the solar system!! Its height is 78,000 feet high!! The Viking landed on Mars in 1976 to take photos of the planet. The Moons Of Mars The Red Planet has two small moons which rotate very close to the surface. Phobos has a diameter of 22 kilometers and is 9,378 kilometers from Mars. Deimos is 23,459 kilometers from the planet and has a 12 kilometer diameter. Both moons were discovered by Hall in 1877. | ||||||||||||||||
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There is a very large rumor that there is life on Mars! There are several clues to this. One, there have been "faces" found in Mars. If you look at Mars from space, you can see these designs. Second, there are several meteorites which have been found. They have fossils in them. Scientists have traced their trajectory and they come from Mars! Third, there are many canyons which could have had water in them. Water is the key to life, so there could be life on Mars. However, this picture is a picture of Olympus Mons a volcano on Mars which is another clue to life on Mars. | Life on Mars?? | ||||||||||||||||
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| Map Shows Mars is Pear Shaped. |
A new laser formed map shows that Mars is pear shaped. There is a 20 mile difference between the highest and the lowest points on Mars. There is a crater that is lower than Mt. Everest is high. Also, there is Olympus Mons.In the northern hemishpere of Mars, there is a huge basin that goes down six miles below the average elevation of Mars. -Information from 1999, The Associated Press | ||||||||||||||||
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