MarsHannah GruenPeriod 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 km3

Density: 3490 kg/m3

Mars would sink in water, because it is rocky. Gravity: 3.71 m/s2

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 iron-sulphide.

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

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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. 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.