Spacecraft images over five decades have revealed our planet’s history, climate and geology to us while inspiring artists. By the close of the 19th century, astronomers had amassed a vast library of written and painted depictions of Mars. These works could be considered works of astronomical realism. Paint by Numbers Paint by Numbers (PBN) is…
Scientists have long studied Mars by peering through telescopes, orbiting it with spacecraft and sending rovers onto its surface. Through their work they’ve discovered many similarities between our world and Mars’. Planet Venus shares similar dimensions, gravity and composition with Earth; yet has unique features of its own such as an oblate spheroid shape and…
Studies on human settlement on Mars have been ongoing since at least 1960; however, only recently has there been any realistic chance for such an endeavor to become reality. Travel to Mars poses numerous risks. Astronauts could experience bone loss as they remain immobile for long stretches. Life on Mars Mars’ surface is inhospitable to…
Mars experiences temperatures as low as -140deg C in its winters; during its summers however, temperatures can reach +20degC. Humans looking to explore Mars will have to adapt to its extreme temperatures, but finding water may prove even harder. Temperature Mars, as the fourth planet from the sun, is much colder than Earth due to…
Mars, located as the fourth planet from the Sun and an Earthlike planet with two moons, features an atmosphere which is thin compared to Earth and features that resemble impact craters found on both bodies as well as valleys, deserts, and polar ice caps. Earth also experiences giant dust storms which last for months and…
Mars, known by Hindus as Mangal and associated with Krtikeya in mythology, rules over Aries and Scorpio zodiac signs. It has an influential effect on your first house of birth chart on Tuesdays. People with an elevated Mars placement tend to be soldiers, police officers, and higher authorities who exhibit aggressive characteristics with masculine characteristics…
Mars is often considered Earth’s twin, sharing many similar qualities such as its long Martian days referred to as sols. Mars shares Earth’s axial tilt and spin period, giving rise to similar seasons like spring, summer, autumn and winter. However, its orbital eccentricity is larger. Daytime Mars is often referred to as Earth’s “Twin.” It…
Mars has an unusual atmosphere and features an outer crust comprised of rocks covered by an extremely thick layer of water-ice. Mars is home to Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano in our solar system. Some astronomers have observed seasonal dark lines on Mars’s surface which might represent canals created by intelligent Martians – an idea…
Even though Mars has lost much of its overall magnetic field, some areas still create unique atmospheric electrodynamic structures – magnetic loops and cusps which alter how ions leave its atmosphere. Sabine Stanley and her colleagues have developed an effective technique for artificially creating these structures. Their paper published in Science details how this can…
