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The polar ice caps are well-known telescopic features of Mars, first identified by Christiaan Huygens in 1672. [42] Since the 1960s, we have known that the seasonal caps (those seen in the telescope to grow and wane seasonally) are composed of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) ice that condenses out of the atmosphere as temperatures fall to 148 K, the ...
Many places on Mars show rocks arranged in layers. Rock can form layers in a variety of ways. Volcanoes, wind, or water can produce layers. [8] A detailed discussion of layering with many Martian examples can be found in Sedimentary Geology of Mars. [9]
Named after the Roman god of war, it is often referred to as the "Red Planet" [1] [2] because the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, having surface features reminiscent both of the impact craters of the Moon and the valleys, deserts, and polar ice caps of Earth.
Areography, also known as the geography of Mars, is a subfield of planetary science that entails the delineation and characterization of regions on Mars. [1] [2] [3] Areography is mainly focused on what is called physical geography on Earth; that is the distribution of physical features across Mars and their cartographic representations.
Mars is differentiated, which—for a terrestrial planet—implies that it has a central core made up of high density matter (mainly metallic iron and nickel) surrounded by a less dense, silicate mantle and crust. [4] Like Earth, Mars appears to have a molten iron core, or at least a molten outer core. [5]
The Earth's terrain varies greatly from place to place. About 70.8% [18] of the surface is covered by water. The sea floor has mountainous features, including a globe-spanning mid-ocean ridge system, as well as undersea volcanoes, [19] oceanic trenches, submarine canyons, oceanic plateaus, and abyssal plains.
Short title: USGS Scientific Investigations Map 3292, mapsheet: Image title: Geologic Map of Mars: Author: Kenneth L. Tanaka, James A. Skinner, Jr., James M. Dohm ...
Interactive image map of the global topography of Mars. Hover your mouse over the image to see the names of over 60 prominent geographic features, and click to link to them. Coloring of the base map indicates relative elevations , based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor .