MARS – The Red Planet | Planets Of The Solar System
MARS – In this topic, we will now know things about the fourth planet in the solar system also known as the red planet, Mars.
The planet is named after the Roman counterpart of the Greek god of war, Ares due to its reddish and bloody color. Egyptians named the planet Her Desher or “the red one”.
According to Space, the planet is covered by the loose dust composed of iron-rich minerals, which explains its rusty color, hence, making the planet look red.
The atmosphere is cold and thin, hence, liquid water cannot exist on the surface.
The planet also has the highest mountain and the deepest valley in the Solar System:
- Olympus Mons
- the highest mountain which is three times taller than Mount Everest at approximately 17 miles high.
- Valles Marineris
- the deepest valley. Named after the Mariner 9 which discovered the valley in 1971.
Due to its distance to the sun, it is colder than planet Earth, with an averge of -80 degrees Fahrenheit or -60 degrees Celsius. Mars orbits around the Sun every 687 Earth days.
The planet has two moons: Phobos ad Deimos, both made out of carbon-rich rock mixed with ice. They are named after the sons of Ares. Phobos means fear while Deimos means rout.
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