Facts and Info about the Planet Mars
The
name Mars is derived from the Mythical Roman god War, one
of the most worshipped and revered Roman gods throughout
ancient Rome. According to legend Mars was the son of
Jupiter and Juno and father of Romulus and Remus, the
founders of Rome itself. Being visible to the naked eye,
Mars has been known since pre-historic times. The famous
astronomer Lowell and his contemporaries thought that the
surface of the Planet was marked by visible constructed
canals implying life, if not now
at least in the Planets past, although we have known this
to be untrue since the American "Mariner 4" orbited Mars
in 1965 it has left it's legacy in a host of Science
Fiction Stories and their Martians! The first spacecraft
to actually land on Mars was the Russian "Mars 2" in 1971.
How far is the Planet Mars away from the Sun ?
Mars is the fourth furthest planet in our Solar system from the
Sun, the average distance being 228 million Km (1.52 Au), Earth by
comparison is only two thirds this distance away from the sun.
How big is it? Interesting Facts
about the Planet Mars
The
Planet Mars is a medium sized Planet, it has a diameter of about
6800km which is about two thirds of the size of Earth, it also has
approximately two thirds the mass of Earth, approximately 4.20e26
kg.
What is it like on
the surface of the Planet Mars ?
The surface
temperature of this Planet varies between -133 C to 27 C. a
temperature range which marks the planet as being practical for
mankind to send a manned mission in the future. Mars has the
distinction of being the home to Olympus Mons, this vast mountain
rises to a height of 24 km and is the largest mountain in our
Solar System. The atmosphere of Mars is mainly composed of carbon
dioxide (95%) but is very thin.
Does the Planet
Mars have any Moons ?
Mars has two
very small satellites, Phobos and Deimos, both of which closely
orbit the Planet ( 6000km and 23,459km above the surface). American
Astronomer Asaph Hall discovered both Phobos and Deimos in the
Autumn of 1877.
