Mars is the second smallest planet in the solar system and the fourth largest from the sun. It has a solid, dusty, cold, desert surface. Its name comes from Roman mythology, in honor of the god of war (the reddish color of its surface represents the blood spilled in battle). It is also known as the "Red Planet" and can be seen from Earth. many people wonder why is mars red.
For this reason, we are going to dedicate this article to telling you why Mars is red, what its characteristics are and what makes it have this color.
Key features
Mars has an elliptical orbit like Earth, so the positions and distances between the two planets are not always the same. On average, Mars is 230 million kilometers from Earth. According to scientific calculations, the farthest is 402 million kilometers and the closest is 57 million kilometers.
The Red Planet takes 2 Earth years to move and 24 hours and 37 minutes to rotate.. Another similarity with the terrestrial planets is that their axes are tilted 25 degrees (23,4 degrees with respect to Earth). It has a diameter of 6.780 kilometers (almost half that of Earth) and is 228 million kilometers from the bright star.
Mars is characterized by seasons, polar caps, valleys, canyons, and volcanoes., such as the Valle de Marineris (a system of canyons that extend over vast areas of the surface). In addition, there is Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system detected so far on Mars, which is three times higher than Mount Everest, the largest mountain on Earth.
It has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos, discovered in 1877. They are characterized by their low mass and elliptical shape, due to the fact that they have a slight gravitational force, which does not allow them to acquire a spherical shape. Most of them are satellites of the system solar.
Phobos is the largest moon and scientific calculations estimate that it will collide with the Red Planet in about 50 million years.
Temperature and structure of Mars
The temperature of Mars fluctuates between 20ºC and -140ºC. These large temperature differences are due to the fact that the atmosphere is too light to sustain the heat it receives from the sun.
This contrast between daytime and nighttime weather can cause very strong winds, which can cause dust storms. Once the storm subsides, it could take months for all the dust to settle.
Mars is a rocky planet with an oscillating crust between 10 and 50 kilometers deep., a substance rich in minerals such as silicates and nutrients such as magnesium, sodium, potassium and chlorine (characteristic of terrestrial soils that allow plant growth).
The reddish color is due to the richness of iron oxide on the surface. At greater depths, iron dominates, and at its dense core lie various metals such as iron, nickel, and sulfur.
The surface of Mars shares many similarities with the topography of Earth, such as volcanoes, impact craters, crustal movement, and atmospheric conditions (such as dust storms), which are characteristic of Martian landforms.
It does not have a global magnetic field, but regions of the crust in the southern hemisphere are highly magnetized, possibly traces of a larger field dating back about 4 million years.
Based on the results of several explorations, scientists believe that Mars may have had a history of ancient networks of rivers, deltas, and lakes of water, and that the planet may have experienced widespread flooding around 3.500 billion years ago. It is now confirmed that there is water on the Red Planet, but the atmosphere is too thin for water to remain liquid on the surface.
why is mars red
According to the experts, published in the journal Scientific Reports, the origin may be the intense oxidation of pyrite in an oxygen-free atmosphere. Because when dissolved, the particles of this mineral -composed of almost equal amounts of iron and sulfur- produce precipitates of iron oxide and sulfate, which have the characteristic red color.
During dissolution, iron disulfide (FeS2) pyrite, the most common species on Earth, is capable of producing highly reactive species, including hydrogen peroxide, commonly known as hydrogen peroxide, and a very unstable set of free cells.
Therefore, their work shows that the dissolution of pyrite particles releases an oxidizing power that works even in an oxygen-deficient atmosphere like that of Mars. To reach this conclusion, the scientists combined computer models and laboratory experiments. Specific, designed a reactor to record the formation and decomposition of these species in a controlled atmosphere using spectrophotometry and sensors.
The data obtained show that the hydrogen peroxide generated on the pyrite surface reacts with the iron released during dissolution through the so-called 'Fenton reaction', forming a large amount of free radicals in solution. This is the reason why Mars is red.
atmosphere and life
The atmosphere of Mars is thin and fragile, so it doesn't offer much protection against meteor, asteroid or comet impacts. It is made up of 90% carbon dioxide with small amounts of nitrogen and argon..
The water vapor is scarce, but enough to form clouds of a certain light consistency, similar to those that exist on Earth. However, due to the pressure and temperature conditions, no precipitate will form.
Scientists believe that in order to find life on a celestial body, there must be liquid water. Evidence from space missions suggests that there was a vast ocean in the northern hemisphere of Mars about 4.300 billion years ago (and may have existed for 1.500 billion years).
That watery past combined with a denser and more stable atmosphere could have been favorable conditions for the development of life. At the moment, the presence of living beings is not sought, but signs of past life are investigated, when the Red Planet was warmest, it was covered in water and the conditions were conducive to the development of life.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about why Mars is red and some of its characteristics.