Facts: Interesting Facts About Mars

Representational Image of Mars

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• Mars had water in the ancient past

The first signs of trickling water are dark stripes or stains on the crater wall and cliffs seen in satellite images. Even now Mars has been known to have water in the form of ice.

• Mars used to Have a thicker atmosphere

For water to flow in the past mars needs more atmosphere. Due to several factors over the years, it got thinner and thinner.

• Mars is home to the tallest mountain in the solar system

Olympus Mons, a shield volcano, is 21km high and 600km in diameter.

• The planet is named after mars, the roman God of war

The ancient Greeks called the planet Ares, after their god of war the Romans then did likewise associating the planet’s blood red color with Mars their own god of war.

• Pieces of Mars have fallen to Earth

Due to its low gravity, meteorites violently ejected from Mars after a few asteroids hit the red planet. They orbited around the solar system with other galactic debris for millions of years, before crash landing on Earth.

• One day mars will have ring

In the next 20 to 40 million years, Mars largest moon Phobos will be torn apart by gravitational forces leading to the creation of a ring that could last up to 100 million years.

• Mars experiences massive dust storms

These dust storms are considered to be the largest in our solar system. The orbit path is more elongated than many of the other planets and this oval-shaped orbit results in fierce dust storms that sometimes last for several months. The trajectory of Mars is the most eccentric of the eight planets in the solar system.

• Sunsets on the Mars are blue

During the martian day, the sky is pinkish red and sunsets are blue