The fourth planet of the Solar System Mars is the scene of many fantastic stories. Writers and directors often place extraterrestrial civilizations here that are hostile or friendly to us. Studies, however, show that there is definitely no such highly developed life on Mars. This does not mean that the Red Planet is a boring and uninteresting place. On the contrary, very many scientists in their thoughts are carried away here, trying to comprehend the secrets and explain the features of the fourth planet. Such parameters as the diameter of Mars, its mass, gravitational acceleration , the first and second cosmic velocities on the planet and so on, are carefully collected and analyzed throughout the entire period of our neighbor’s study. Let's get to know him better.
Orbit features
Mars - a description of the planet, perhaps it is worth starting with this very thing - in terms of distance from the Sun it follows immediately after the Earth. Its orbit has a length of almost 1.5 billion kilometers and, like most planets, is an ellipse. Beyond the orbit of Mars is the main asteroid belt.
One revolution around the star of the Red Planet requires significantly more time than the Earth - 687 days. The average distance of Mars to the Sun is approximately 228 million kilometers. For comparison, the same indicator for the Earth is 149.5 million km.
Similarity
There are parameters close in their values that characterize the Earth and Mars. The description of the planet always contains information about the period of rotation around the axis. As you know, for the Earth it is about 24 hours. In the case of the Red Planet, the figure is not much different - 24 hours 37 minutes 22.7 seconds. Due to such a rapid rotation, our neighbor has a slightly flattened shape from the poles. As a result, the diameter of Mars at the equator is somewhat different from the same indicator for the poles. However, the same feature is characteristic of the Earth. The diameter of Mars in kilometers near the equator reaches 6739.8. This is approximately 53% of the same parameter of our planet. The diameter of Mars, if measured in the region of the poles, will be 42 km less. This parameter is in the same proportion with the earth as the previous one.
The axis of the Red Planet has a rather large angle of inclination to the plane of the orbit (24 ° 56 ′), which provides Mars with another similarity to the Earth - the presence of a change of seasons. However, due to other features of the planet, the differences between the summer and winter periods are much sharper.
Some other physical parameters
In general, according to the main characteristics, the Earth looks more impressive than Mars. The mass of the planet is 6.4185 × 10 23 kg - this is only 0.107 of the same parameter of the Earth.
The density of the substance that makes up Mars is 6.4185 × 10 23 kg. The value of the acceleration of gravity is 3.7 m / s 2 . The temperature conditions on the Red Planet are very different from Earth. At the equator in the summertime, the air can warm up to + 30º in the afternoon, and cool down to -80º in a winter night. In the region of the poles, the temperature sometimes drops to -143º.
Surface
Planet Mars, the photo of which is delivered by almost all the devices whose course runs past the Red Planet, is characterized by rather interesting features of the surface topography. Here you can find a huge number of craters and traces of atmospheric and water activity that took place in antiquity.
The main feature of the surface is its division into two zones. The southern hemisphere resembles a lunar landscape. In general, the surface here rises one to two kilometers above the average level. The northern part of the planet, on the contrary, is below average. There are a small number of craters here, the main part of the space is occupied by more or less smooth plains, presumably formed as a result of erosion and flooding by lava. The irregular and wide border separating the two zones runs in a large circle, inclined about 30º to the equator. The reason for this separation of the surface is not yet clear to scientists.
Composition
The planet of the Solar System Mars is included in the same group of space objects as the Earth. These are the so-called planets of the earth group. They are characterized by a rocky structure, in contrast to gas giants, in which gaseous substances dominate. Silicon (21%) takes the leading place among other elements in Mars, followed by iron, magnesium, calcium and aluminum (12.7; 5; 4 and 3%, respectively). In addition, on the Red Planet, the sulfur level is quite high in comparison with the Earth - 3.1% of the total composition.
The planet Mars, whose photo is difficult to confuse with images of other objects, has, as you know, a reddish surface tint. This effect is provided by iron oxides and hydrates, which are part of the planet’s soil along with the silicates that make up its base.
At the poles
The polar caps of the Red Planet are almost four kilometers thick. They are composed of water ice and carbon dioxide. The latter, under the conditions of low temperatures prevailing here, condenses from the atmosphere. In the area of the southern polar cap, geysers were discovered, which are a mixture of carbon dioxide with dust and ice, ejected to a considerable height above the surface.
The polar caps begin to melt in the spring. As a result, atmospheric pressure rises markedly and very strong winds arise, contributing to the movement of impressive gas masses in the opposite hemisphere. The wind speed in this case sometimes reaches 100 m / s.
These movements become the cause of dust storms, which are a characteristic feature of the planet. Dust storms make a significant contribution to the formation of conditions on Mars: they affect temperature changes and lead to soil erosion.
Water traces
One of the motivations that make people explore space is the desire to find, if not developed life, then at least the conditions suitable for its occurrence. Mars has long been regarded as one of the worthy candidates for this role. The data accumulated to date indicate that on the Red Planet once upon a time there could be one of the basic conditions for the emergence of life - water in a liquid state. On Mars, erosion was found that resembles water in its characteristics. The surface images transmitted by the rovers allowed the scientists to see even the alleged beds of dried up rivers. In addition, the devices found minerals on the Red Planet, the formation of which requires positive temperatures and a water-alkaline environment. However, scientists have not yet come to the final conclusions about the water past of Mars.
Atmosphere
Water vapor is also present in the air shell of the planet, but in small quantities - 0.1%. Mostly (95%) of the planet’s atmosphere consists of carbon dioxide, there are also nitrogen (2.7%), argon (1.6%) and oxygen (0.13%). Methane and heavy inert gases were also found in the atmosphere in even lower concentrations than the above substances.
Methane is considered one of the mysteries of Mars. This substance decomposes under the influence of sunlight, and for its accumulation in the atmosphere, even in such a small amount, a constant source of replenishment is necessary. Today, there are two main candidates for this role: gas hydrates, heated by internal heat, and Martian bacteria, presumably existing in the deep layers of the lithosphere.
Highscores
Despite the fact that the diameter of Mars (in km), its mass and other parameters are inferior to the Earth's, there are objects that are striking in their dimensions. The main ones are volcanoes and mountains. The vast volcanic plain of Tarsis is located in the northern hemisphere of the planet and extends over two thousand kilometers. Volcanoes such as Arsia, Pavonis and Ascreus are located here. Next to them, on the edge of Tarsis, is the main "attraction" of the Red Planet - Mount Olympus. Reaching an altitude of 27 km, it is considered the highest in the entire solar system. The diameter of the surface area occupied by Olympus is 550 km.
On the territory of Tarsis can be found faults. The largest of them is the so-called Mariner Valley: 4.5 thousand kilometers in length and 600 km in width at a depth of 10 km. The most impressive landslides in the solar system often arise on the slopes of the valley.
A magnetic field
If the diameter of the planet Mars and its other numerical characteristics are precisely known and not in doubt, then some other parameters cause scientists a lot of questions. Among them is the magnetic field of the planet. In fact, it is not: nothing protects Mars from sunlight. However, studies of spacecraft have shown that there are zones on the planet with a fairly strong magnetic field. There is a version that Mars, about 4 billion years ago, had powerful sun protection similar to Earth's, but then lost it.
The recorded remnants of the field are stripes of varying polarity, stretching from west to east. Their width reaches thousands of kilometers. Such local magnetic fields are a mystery to scientists. Neither their origin nor the reason for this polarity is clear.
The diameter of Mars, however, was also a mystery to humans some time ago. Research on the Red Planet continues and becomes deeper thanks to improved technology and new knowledge in the field of astrophysics. And therefore, there is every reason to believe that the secrets of Mars will somehow be revealed and explained in the not so distant future.