Mars is one of the four interior terrestrial planet of the solar system.
Mars is cover by iron oxyd. This planet have a rock dessert, craters, deep valleys, sand dunes, dry rivers beds and the most higher montain in solar system (Olympe mount).
Mars atmosphere is almost totaly compose of carbonic gas.
Temperaure on Mars at the equator do not go up then 20 Celsius degres on day light and go down at minus 70 Celsius degres on night. In winter temperature can go down as minus 100 Celsius degres who incite winds and sandstorms.
We can observ on Mars Syrtis Planitia (fromerly Syrtis Major) a triangular dark spot, in equatorial area.
Mars glint in the sky with a red teint. Because it's go on elliptic orbit far from the Earth, Mars can be a the opposite side of the Sun in the sky. Therefore, we can observ Mars any time in night. Almost every two years, Earth recover in is race agains Mars aroud the Sun and then, their proximity is at maximum. At these moments, Mars reach a superious brightness of the star the most bright. Is apparent size, in telescope, is relatively big. In the other time, is brightness is going down until magnitude 2 and is apparent size is fairly small.
In Martial sping (witch is different on each hemisphere, like Earth), is surface changing color. At the last century, we tought that this color change was because vegtable, therefore, life is existing on Mars. We now know those variations of colors are because some seasons winds covert dark zone with red dust, or, annoy those zone. Viking spacecraft, who land on Mars in 1976 found any vital sign of life.
In binoculars, Mars in look like a small red disk. Even in medium openning telescope, is difficult the look at some detail on the surface.
In 1976, when Viking spacecraft arrived to Mars, a part of each spacecraft go on orbit around the planet and the other was landing on is ground. Those modules in orbit discover giants volcanos, a lot larger then on Earth. They also found larges regions digged of craters and a canyon longer then the United-State size.
Modules on the ground took pictures of rocks blocks of various size. Martial sky as a rosy teint because the suspension dust in atmosphere. Viking spacecraft stay active some years and send datas on winds, metorologics conditions and seasonnials variations. Atmosphere on Mars is realy thin. On the ground, atmospheric pression is like 1 % of what we can find on Earth.
Mars owns two smalls moons, Phobos (from Greek "fear") and Deïmos (from Greek "terror"). In Greek mythology, those two compagnions of war lord who, at Rome, was called Mars. Those moons are always lest then 11 on magnitude scale. To take a look at them, you have to use a powerfull telescope.
Hellas
Trinacria
Ausonia
| Maximal distance from the Sun (million of kilometers) | |
| Minimal distance from the Sun (million of kilometers) | |
| Medium distance from the Sun (million of kilometers) | |
| Medium distance from the Sun (UA) (Earth=1) | |
| Equator diameter (kilometers) | |
| Revolution | |
| West to east rotation | |
| Retrograde rotation | |
| Medium orbital velocity (kilometers per second) | |
| Axies inclinaison (Degre) | |
| Orbital inclinaison (According to ecliptic) | |
| Extrem temperature on surface (Celsius degre) | + 22 |
| Atmosphere | Azote Argon |
| Visibility | |
| Color | |
| Know satellite | |
| Rings | |
| Volume (Earth = 1) | |
| Mass (billion of billion of tons) | |
| Mass (Earth = 1) | |
| Density (Water = 1) | |
| Gravity on surface (Earth = 1) | |
| Mythology | |
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| Discover | |
| Equatorial liberation velocity (km/s) | |
| Principal constituant of the atmosphere |