“Exploring the Characteristics of the Planet Mars: Size, Satellites, Rotation, and Orbit”

Size

One of the characteristics of the Planet Mars that can be seen is its size. The size of Mars is smaller than Earth with a diameter at the equator is 6,794 kilometers, while Earth is 12,756 kilometers. The diameter of Mars from pole to pole, its distance is 6,752 km, compared to Earth’s 12,720 km. If the Sun were as high as a house door, Earth would be the size of a coin, and Mars would be the size of an aspirin tablet.

Mars is a planet that resembles Earth in many ways, but differs in size and gravitational pull. From observations by spacecraft and telescopes, scientists know that Mars’ mass and gravity are less massive than Earth’s. Its mass is 11% that of Earth’s and its gravity is about 62% less than Earth’s gravitational pull.

Satellite

The following characteristics of the planet Mars can be seen from the satellite. Mars has two satellites that surround it, namely Phobos and Deimos. Both Phobos and Deimos appear to be made of carbon-rich rock mixed with ice and covered in dust and loose rock.

Both of these satellites are smaller than the moon and are irregular in shape. It’s still uncertain how Phobos and Deimos were born, as they have a similar composition to asteroids found elsewhere in the Solar System.

Rotation and Orbit

Further characteristics of the planet Mars can be seen from its rotation and orbit. Days on Mars are slightly longer than Earth days. This red planet takes 24 hours and 40 minutes to rotate once on its axis. For comparison, Earth takes 23 hours and 56 minutes.

The year on Mars is also longer than Earth. That’s because it takes 687 days to make one trip around the Sun, as opposed to Earth which takes 365.25 days. The longer year is due to Mars’ distance from the Sun, and this planet has the second most eccentric orbit of any body in the solar system.

At its farthest distance (at aphelion), Mars is 249.23 million kilometers from the Sun. At perihelion (its closest approach), Mars is only 206.62 million km away. On average, Mars is about 227.9 million km from the Sun.