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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.
Mars is located 142,000,000 miles away from the Sun. Named after the Roman God of war, Mars is widely known for its blood-red color. Chinese astronomers even used to call Mars the 'fire star ...
The planet has remained under observation by ground and space-based instruments across a broad range of the electromagnetic spectrum.The discovery of meteorites on Earth that originated on Mars has allowed laboratory examination of the chemical conditions on the planet.
Spotting Mars at opposition is easier than you might think because the planet will stand out due to its color and radiance. Instead of appearing a whitish yellow shade like the stars, it will be a ...
Mars comes closer to Earth more than any other planet save Venus at its nearest—56 million km is the closest distance between Mars and Earth, whereas the closest Venus comes to Earth is 40 million km. Mars comes closest to Earth every other year, around the time of its opposition, when Earth is sweeping between the Sun and Mars. Extra-close ...
The axial tilt and eccentricity of Earth (and Mars) are by no means fixed, but rather vary due to gravitational perturbations from other planets in the Solar System on a timescale of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of years. Thus, for example Earth's eccentricity, currently about 1% regularly fluctuates and can increase up to 6%.
When NASA put a seismometer on Mars, aboard its InSight lander, the goal was to peer into the planet's interior. Mars used to have liquid water on its surface, but no longer. NASA/JPL
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 .