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MARS

Mars, known as the Red Planet, is named after the Roman God of War and has captivated humanity for centuries. Visible to the naked eye, it was first recorded by the Ancient Egyptians around 1534 BCE. With a rotation period of approximately 24 hours and 40 minutes, and a revolution period of 669 Martian days, Mars boasts an axial tilt of 25 degrees. The planet has been the subject of numerous observations from Aristotle to modern telescopic studies. Major missions like Viking 1 and Spirit have enhanced our understanding of its surface features, atmosphere, and potential for future exploration.

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MARS

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  1. “The Red Planet” MARS

  2. Introduction • Named after: the Roman God of War • Visible to the naked eye • Earliest record of observation: circa 1534 BCE, by the Ancient Egyptians • Rotation period: roughly 24 hours, 40 minutes • Revolution period: 669 Martian days • Axial tilt: 25 degrees • Radius (Polar and equatorial): roughly half of Earth’s

  3. Major Observations of Mars (1) • Observation by Aristotle in 356/7 BCE • Observations by Tycho Brahe in 16th century and by Johannes Keplerbetween 1601-1609 • First telescope observation by Galileo Galilei in 1609 • First sketch of Martian surface by Christiaan Huygens in 1659 • Discovery of Martian seasons in 1719 by GiacomoFilippoMaraldi, confirmed by William Herschel in 1783 • Asaph Hall’s discovery of Phobos and Deimos in 1877 • First map of Martian surface by Giovanni Schiaparelli in the same year • Craters observed in 1892 by Edward Emerson Barnard

  4. Major Observations of Mars (2) • 1894-1909: Percival Lowell and the Martian “canals” • 1938: Orson Welles’ radio production of the “War of the Worlds”, widespread panic • 1952: Gerard Kuiper and the Martian atmosphere

  5. Key Space Missions to Mars • Soviet Marsnik program (failure), 1961 • Mariner 4 (first successful flyby), 1964 • Soviet Mars 2 lander (failure), 1971 • Viking 1 (first successful landing), 1976 • Soviet Phobos 2 (failure), 1989 • Mars Climate Orbiter (failure), 1999 • Spirit and Opportunity (success), 2003

  6. Surface Features • VallesMarineris • Tharsis bulge • Olympus Mons • Cydonia • PlanumBoreum and PlanumAustrale

  7. Atmosphere • 95% Carbon Dioxide • 3% Nitrogen • 2% Oxygen and Water • High wind • No rainfall • Average temperature is 210 Kelvin (-80 degrees Fahrenheit) • Frozen waters below surface (?)

  8. The Moons • Non-spherical • Small sizes • Orbits are very close to Mars • Asaph Hall III • Kepler’s lucky guess

  9. References Books • Schneider, Stephen and Arny, Thomas T. Pathways to Astronomy, Second Edition. New York, McGraw-Hill, 2009. Web Sites • http://www.umich.edu/~lowbrows/reflections/2001/dsnyder.7.html

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