Mars is the most studied planet in the solar system after Earth, today it is considered by scientists as a potential planet for human colonization. Mars has always been an object of human curiosity and it often appears in fantasy films and books.
Long ago, Mars was shrouded in myths and a veil of mystery, the appearance of the red planet in the sky heralded the approach of war. Due to its red hue, many ancient peoples believed that Mars was covered in blood, and that is why it was named after the Roman god of war - Mars.
The true nature of the color of the planet is related to the large amount of iron oxide on its surface. In other words, there is such a large amount of iron on Mars that the planet is literally covered with rust. The hue of the planet changes depending on the seasons, of which there are also four on Mars.
Mars is not perfectly spherical and somewhat flattened, like the Earth, at the poles. This slight flattening is also caused by the rotation of the planet around its axis.
Mars is the fourth and last planet in the Solar System with a rocky surface, the rest of the planets, which are in orbits further away from the Sun, are gaseous in structure.
The Martian day lasts 24 hours and 37 minutes, and the orbital period or year is almost twice as long as the Earth's and is 687 days.
How strange it is that the sunset on Mars is blue.
Craters on Mars, which are more than 60 km in diameter, are named after deceased scientists, writers and outstanding people who contributed to the study of Mars.
In the myths of Ancient Greece, the war god Ares (Mars) is always followed by his sons Deimos and Phobos (the names of the twin gods are translated as terror and fear) into battle. That is why, in 1877, the American astronomer Asaph Hall, who discovered the moons of Mars, named them Deimos and Phobos, according to current astronomical traditions.
Since the moons of Mars are irregularly shaped, scientists believe that they may be asteroids that Mars captured by its gravity.
Computer simulations showed that the largest satellite of Mars, Phobos, is constantly approaching the planet. In the next 20-40 million years, it will come so close that it will be torn apart by gravitational forces, and in 100 million years, the debris will form a ring approximately the same as that of Saturn.
