The red planet is the second name of Mars, which is quite close to the Earth. Observing the “neighbor” in the starry sky is quite possible without a telescope.
Mars, belonging to the Earth group, is the fourth planet from the Sun. For comparison: the Earth occupies the third position in our solar system.
The red planet is our "neighbor"
The name "red" is primarily associated with its shade.
Due to the high content of iron oxides, its surface color is slightly reddish. As for the
size of the planet relative to the Earth,
Mars is almost two times
smaller . The diameter of the planet is about half that of the Earth.
How long does a day last on Mars?
The period of revolution of Mars around the Sun is 687 Earth days. That is, a year on Mars lasts almost twice as long as on Earth.
This is due to the fact that the distance to it is 1.62 times greater than from us to the Sun, and the period of revolution, of course, takes longer.
How long does a day last on Mars? The length of the day on Mars is quite close to Earth's indicators. Only this planet of our solar system has this period as close to us as possible compared to the rest.
Regarding the duration, the day on Mars in the hours familiar to our understanding will be 24 hours 37 minutes.
This indicator is slightly higher than Earth's day. The reason for how long the day lasts on Mars is, first of all, the speed of revolution of the Red Planet around its axis.
The length of the day on the planets of our solar system
The length of a day directly depends on the distance to the Sun and the speed of rotation around the own axis of each planet. There are stellar and sunny days.
The magnitude of the difference between them depends on a combination of two factors - these are periods of revolution around the Sun and revolution around its axis.
Consider the length of the day and year on other planets and compare with how long the day lasts on Mars and the Earth.
The first and closest planet to the Sun is Mercury. The stellar days on this planet are 59 earth days, and the sun lasts about 176.
As for Venus, due to its reversal in the opposite direction, the stellar day has a duration of 223 Earth days, and the solar day is 117 days.
The earth, on the other hand, has 24 hours in sunny days, stellar days are a little shorter and make up 23 hours 56 minutes.
The duration of a day on Mars stellar and solar is similar to that on Earth. And are respectively 24 hours 37 minutes and 24 hours and 40 minutes. That is, a day on Mars lasts 24 hours 40 minutes.
As for the giant planets, on Jupiter it is almost ten hours, on Saturn - about 10 hours 34 minutes. On Neptune, it is about 16 hours, and on Uranus, 17 hours and 15 minutes. The difference between solar and stellar days on these planets is insignificant. This is due to the long period of revolution around the sun.
As we can see, of all the planets in duration, in comparison with the Earth, Mars is most similar.
A day on Mars, as well as on our planet, is four minutes longer than a stellar day.
On other planets, the difference is more significant, so much similarity is not observed.
The day on Mars is the same as on Earth
In 2023, an expedition to Mars is planned . This time, unlike ordinary probes exploring the planet, people will fly aboard the spacecraft.
This rather complicated mission is associated with the fact that the living conditions of people are much more difficult than on their home planet, and going for a walk into the open space is impossible without protective equipment.
One of the questions on the adaptation of new Martian inhabitants is the body’s reaction to how long the day lasts on Mars, in contrast to Earth conditions.
Will there be a full biological adaptation? According to physiologists, such a small difference of 37 minutes will be quite easily perceived by the settlers.
Many difficulties are expected, but perhaps, despite this, a day on Mars, so similar to ours, will remind astronauts of their home. No wonder the Red Planet is called the twin of the Earth. Its similarity is great, but the suitability for living is minimal.
Looks like but not hospitable
Against the background of a high level of radiation, to protect the settlers, it is planned to build residential complexes specially designed to protect against fairly harsh conditions.
On Mars, there is practically no atmosphere, increased discharges. In the air of the planet is mainly carbon dioxide.
As for the climate, it is quite severe. At the equator in the summer, the temperature rises to the maximum of +27 degrees Celsius.
At the poles it drops to -120 degrees Celsius. It is worth noting that the tilt angle on Mars is close to the earth's indicator and is 25 degrees.Thanks to this, the change of seasons is similar to the usual local conditions. But still, the year on Mars is almost twice as long as the Earth’s and amounts to almost 687 days.
Based on how long the day lasts on Mars, and from the total number of days in the Martian year, we get that the first settlers will see the Sun during the Martian year 668 times.
Astronauts of the future
In this regard, the organizers and scientists of the mission there is another problem that is almost technically resolved. It is associated with the synchronization of our and Martian time. The scientific term “Sol” refers to a day on Mars or the length of a day.
In this way, the new inhabitants of Mars will begin to name their day and say that two or three sols have passed. Well, let's hope that such a grand mission will be successful and will open a new interplanetary era of the future.