Mars
Mars
Hannah Gruen
Period 3
Name & Symbol
The name Mars came from the Roman god of war.
The symbol, which is the male symbol, represents the shield and arrow of Mars.
Discovery
Mars is very bright and easily spotted in the night sky without any instruments, so we don’t know exactly who discovered it.
Distances
Mars is fourth from the sun.
It is 227,940,000 km from the sun.
It is 78,340,000 km from Earth.
Measurements
Mass: 641,693,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg
Volume: 163,115,609,799 km 3
Density: 3490 kg/m 3
Mars would sink in water, because it is rocky.
Gravity: 3.71 m/s 2
If you were 100 lbs on Earth, you would be 38 on Mars.
Orbit & Rotation
It takes 686.98 Earth days for Mars to orbit the Sun.
It takes 1.03 Earth days for Mars to rotate on its axis.
Atmosphere
Mars has a thin atmosphere made up mostly of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and argon.
Temperature
The temperature range on Mars is -87 to -
5°C.
This is colder than Earth generally is, and very cold compared to the high temperatures in Florida.
Composition/Appearance
Mars is a rocky planet. It has a red surface caused by iron oxide (rust). It has volcanoes, canyon systems, riverbeds, cratered terrain, and dune fields.
Its internal composition is silicate rock, iron, and ironsulphide.
Mars appears red, and is known as the Red Planet.
Weather
Mars weather varies day to day. It is generally dry, cold, and clear.
Temperatures can change 110° in one day. There are dust devils and dust storms there. The carbon dioxide in the polar caps freezes and becomes dry ice in the cold season. Sometimes snow falls, but never rain. There is no evidence that the snow ever reaches the surface of Mars.
Moons
Mars has two moons, Phobos & Deimos.
Asaph Hall discovered them both in 1877.
Phobos Deimos
Water
Evidence suggests that
Mars once had rivers, lakes, streams, and even an ocean. Today the only water found on Mars is either frozen in the polar caps or underground.
If you went to Mars…
The air is thin and made of mostly carbon dioxide, so you couldn’t breathe.
You wouldn’t be protected from the sun because
Mars has a thin atmosphere.
Something Special
Higher mountains and deeper canyons than any other planet.
The largest canyon would stretch from Los
Angeles to New York City.
Has the solar system’s biggest volcano,
Olympus Mons, which is 3 times bigger than Mt. Everest.
Olympus Mons
Works Cited
“Mars.” Enchantedlearning.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Jan. 2014. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/mars/ .
“Mars.” Kidsastronomy.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Jan. 2014. http://www.kidsastronomy.com/mars.htm
.
“Mars.” Nineplanets.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Dec. 2013. http://nineplanets.org/mars.html
.
“Mars Profile.” Pds.jpl.nasa.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Jan. 2014. http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/special/mars.htm
.
“Mars.” Windows2universe.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Jan. 2014. http://www.windows2universe.org/mars/mars.html
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N.d. Photograph. Technorati.com. Web. 01 Jan. 2014. http://www.technorati.com/technology/article/the-mars-one-project-hopes-to/ .
“Solar System Exploration: Planets: Mars: Overview.” Solarsystem.nasa.gov. N.p., n.d.
Web. 01 Jan. 2014. http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Mars .
