Facts About Mars
There are innumerous facts about mars which have continued to fascinate mankind since time immemorial. Mars is the fourth planet from the sun and has been named after the Roman God of War, Mars. As it has a reddish appearance from the earth, it is also sometimes referred to as the red planet. Being the seventh largest planet in our solar system, it spins quickly on its axis and takes a slightly longer time to complete a day as in comparison to the earth. A day on this planet comprises of 24 hours and 37 minutes and a Martian year is equal to 688 earth days.
Though there are many mystifying facts about mars, which have attracted the attention of astronomers, perhaps the most capturing among all, is the possibility of life on this planet. Mars has been observed by astronomers since centuries. Earlier, it was the appearance of canals on the planets surface, which led astronomers to believe that the planet may contain an advanced civilization. But, some recent missions ruled out this possibility, on finding the planet to be dry and dusty, with a weather which changes drastically with every season. Actually there are some channels and valleys on the surface of mars which confirms the belief that water once existed on this planet, but, existence of any kind of life has yet not been discovered.
The atmospheric layers surrounding mars are very thin and mostly contain carbon dioxide. Evidence shows that the planet is famous for having dust storms, which cover the entire surface for months at a stretch. There are number of volcanoes on the surface of mars and the one called Olympus Mons is the largest in our solar system. The planet also has many polar caps similar to earth, containing carbon dioxide in a frozen state along with a small amount of water.
Mars possesses the greatest gorge in the solar system known as Valles Marineris. This gorge was caused by some volcanic eruptions, which tore up the land around them and left a huge valley instead. The surface of mars is highly uneven and reveals that the planet is prone to high meteorite impacts, unlike the earth, which has fewer impact craters. A similar tilt has been seen in the planet’s axis as in earth’s axis, hence imparting a variety of seasons to the planet. The size of the sun seen from the surface of mars is nearly half the size of that seen from the earth’s surface.
A number of space probes have been sent in space in an effort to collect the maximum number of facts about mars. Among these were some American space probes namely Mariner 4 (year of launch: 1964), Mariner 9 (year of launch: 1971), Viking 1 and 2 (year of launch: 1975), Mars global surveyor (year of launch: 1996) and Mars climate orbitor (year of launch: 1998). Russian space probes include Mars 2 and 1(year of launch: 1971), Mars 5 (year of launch: 1973) and Phobos 1(year of launch: 1988). The endless search of life on mars continues till date.