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In addition, since most Earth-based amateur telescopes are not powerful enough to resolve the topographic surface features of Mars, amateur astronomers still use many of the old feature-names to orient themselves and record their observations. Mars albedo features after the 1958 official list of names, but before the 1972 observations of Mariner 9.
No topography is visible on Mars from Earth-based telescopes. The bright areas and dark markings on pre-spaceflight-era maps of Mars are all albedo features. (See Classical albedo features on Mars.) They have little relation to topography. Dark markings are most distinct in a broad belt from 0° to 40° S latitude.
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun.The surface of Mars is orange-red because it is covered in iron(III) oxide dust, giving it the nickname "the Red Planet". [22] [23] Mars is among the brightest objects in Earth's sky, and its high-contrast albedo features have made it a common subject for telescope viewing.
Unlike Earth, Mars does not have a global magnetic field to protect its atmosphere, leaving it vulnerable to solar ultraviolet radiation. Scientists crack mystery of Mars' missing atmosphere ...
The first albedo feature ever seen on another planet was Syrtis Major Planum on Mars in the 17th century. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] Today, thanks to space probes, very high-resolution images of surface features on Mars and Mercury are available, and the classical nomenclature based on albedo features has fallen somewhat into disuse, although it is still used ...
Since the 1960s, when flybys and access to orbital spacecraft imagery of Mars began to become commonplace, many relief features were named in addition to previously named albedo features. In 1979, a region of Sinus Meridiani was named Terra Meridiani, literally "Meridian Land." In 2001, boundaries of regional features were redefined, and this ...
A mineral grain from a meteorite preserved evidence that water was present on Mars 4.45 billion years ago, and it may have created hot springs habitable for life.
Because the orbit of Mars is considerably eccentric its brightness at opposition can range from magnitude −3.0 to −1.4. [14] The minimum brightness is about magnitude +1.6 [14] when Mars is on the opposite site of the Sun from the Earth. Rotational variations can elevate or suppress the brightness of Mars by 5% and global dust storms can ...