The god of war Mars in the ancient Roman pantheon was considered the father of the Roman people, the guardian of fields and domestic animals, then the patron of equestrian competitions. The fourth planet from the Sun is named after him. Probably, the blood-red appearance of the planet evoked associations with war and death among the first observers. They even got the appropriate names - Phobos ("fear") and Deimos ("horror").

red riddle

Each planet has its own mysteries, but none of them has intrigued earthlings as much as Mars. The unusual red appearance of the planet remained inexplicable for a long time, and it seemed interesting what the temperature is on Mars, and whether its color depends on it. It is today that every schoolchild knows that the abundant content of iron minerals in the Martian soil gives it such a color. And in the past there were some questions that the most inquisitive minds of earthlings were looking for answers to.

cold planet

By its age, this planet is the same as the Earth and other neighbors in the solar system. Scientists suggest that her birth occurred 4.6 billion years ago. And although not everything has yet been clarified in the history of the development of the planet, much has already been established, including the temperature on Mars.

Relatively recently, large ice deposits were discovered at the poles in both hemispheres. This is evidence that liquid water once existed on the planet. And the temperature of Mars may have been completely different. Many scientists suggest that if there is ice on the surface, then water must be preserved in the rocks. And the presence of water is a confirmation that there was once life here.

It has been established that the atmosphere of the planet has a density 100 times less than that of the earth. But despite this, clouds and wind are formed in the layers of the Martian atmosphere. Huge dust storms sometimes rage above the surface.

What is the temperature on Mars is already known, and thanks to the data obtained, we can conclude that it is much colder on the red neighbor than on Earth. In the region of the poles, -125 degrees Celsius was recorded in winter, and the most high in summer reaches +20 degrees at the equator.

How is it different from Earth?

There are many differences between the planets, some of them quite significant. Mars is much smaller than Earth, twice. And the planet is located much further from the Sun: the distance to the star is almost 1.5 times farther than that of our planet.

Since the mass of the planet is relatively small, then it is almost three times less than on Earth. On Mars, as well as on our planet, different seasons are observed, but their duration is almost twice as long.

Unlike the Earth, Mars, whose average air temperature is -30...-40°C, has a very rarefied atmosphere. Its composition is dominated by carbon dioxide, which suggests the absence of this. Therefore, during the day, the temperature on Mars near the surface changes significantly. For example, at noon it can be -18 ° C, and in the evening - already -63 ° C. At night, the temperature was fixed at the equator and 100 degrees below zero.

The climate on Mars, although unfavorable for life, is still closest to the earth. Presumably in the past Mars climate could have been warmer and wetter, and liquid water was present on the surface and it even rained.

Mars is the most likely target for the first manned expedition to another planet.

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✪ Climate of Planet Mars | What is the temperature of Mars

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✪ Mysterious Mars

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atmospheric composition

The atmosphere of Mars is more rarefied than the air shell of the Earth, and 95.9% consists of carbon dioxide, about 1.9% is nitrogen and 2% argon. The oxygen content is 0.14%. The average atmospheric pressure at the surface is 160 times less than at the Earth's surface.

The mass of the atmosphere during the year varies greatly due to condensation in winter and evaporation in summer, large volumes of carbon dioxide at the poles, in the polar caps.

Cloud cover and precipitation

There is very little water vapor in the Martian atmosphere, but at low pressure and temperature, it is in a state close to saturation, and often collects in clouds. Martian clouds are rather inexpressive compared to those on Earth.

Studies conducted by the Mariner 4 spacecraft in 1965 showed that there is currently no liquid water on Mars, but data from NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers indicate the presence of water in the past. On July 31, 2008, water in the state of ice was discovered on Mars at the landing site of NASA's Phoenix spacecraft. The device found ice deposits directly in the ground.

There are several facts in support of the claim of the presence of water on the surface of the planet in the past. First, minerals have been found that could only form as a result of prolonged exposure to water. Secondly, very old craters are practically wiped off the face of Mars. The modern atmosphere could not cause such destruction. The study of the rate of formation and erosion of craters made it possible to establish that wind and water destroyed them most of all about 3.5 billion years ago. Many gullies have approximately the same age.

NASA announced on September 28, 2015 that Mars currently has seasonal liquid salt water flows. These formations manifest themselves in the warm season and disappear - in the cold. Planetary scientists came to their conclusions by analyzing high-quality images obtained scientific instrument High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

Temperature

The average temperature on Mars is much lower than on Earth - about -40°C. Under the most favorable conditions in the summer in the daytime half of the planet, the atmosphere warms up to 20 ° C - quite an acceptable temperature for the inhabitants of the Earth. But on winter nights, frost can reach -125°C. At winter temperatures, even carbon dioxide freezes, turning into dry ice. Such sharp temperature drops are caused by the fact that the rarefied atmosphere of Mars is not able to retain heat for a long time. As a result of numerous measurements of temperatures at various points on the surface of Mars, it turns out that during the day at the equator the temperature can reach up to + 27 ° C, but by morning it drops to -50 ° C.

There are temperature oases on Mars, in the areas of the "lake" Phoenix (Sun Plateau) and the land of Noah, the temperature difference is from -53 ° C to + 22 ° C in summer and from -103 ° C to -43 ° C in winter. Thus, Mars is a very cold world, but the climate there is not much harsher than in Antarctica.

Climate of Mars, 4.5ºS, 137.4ºE (from 2012 to today)
Index	Jan.	Feb.	March	Apr.	May	June	July	Aug.	Sen.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Year
Absolute maximum, °C	6	6	1	0	7	23	30	19	7	7	8	8	30
Average maximum, °C	−7	−18	−23	−20	−4	0	2	1	1	4	−1	−3	−5,7
Average minimum, °C	−82	−86	−88	−87	−85	−78	−76	−69	−68	−73	−73	−77	−78,5
Absolute minimum, °C	−95	−127	−114	−97	−98	−125	−84	−80	−78	−79	−83	−110	−127

Mars is farther away from the Sun than Earth, so as you might expect, temperatures on Mars are colder. For the most part, the planet is very cold. The only exceptions are summer days at the equator. Even at the equator, temperatures on the planet Mars drop below freezing at night. On summer days, during the day it can be around 20 degrees Celsius, but at night it drops to -90 C.

Orbit

Mars has a highly elliptical orbit, so the temperature changes quite a bit as the planet orbits the sun. Since it has an axial tilt similar to Earth's (25.19 on Mars and 26.27 on Earth), the planet has seasons. Add to this a thin atmosphere and you can understand why the planet is unable to retain heat. The Martian atmosphere is made up of over 96% carbon dioxide. If the planet were able to hold on to an atmosphere, then carbon dioxide would cause a greenhouse effect that would heat it up.

Erosion marks from Mars Odyssey

The orbiters have transmitted images that indicate erosion caused by liquid water. This indicates that Mars was once significantly warmer and wetter. Erosion has not gone away because there is currently no liquid water or plate tectonics to change the landscape much. There is wind, but it is not strong enough to change the surface.

Importance of a warm climate

Availability warm weather and liquid water is important for several reasons. One is that liquid water is essential to the evolution of life. Some scientists are still of the opinion that microbial life exists deep below the surface, where it is warmer and water can exist in liquid form.

Colonization

If humans ever colonize the planet, they must have sources of water. The manned mission will take about two years, and the amount of cargo on board the ship will be limited. One solution is that water ice can be melted and then purified, but finding liquid water would be even more worthwhile.

Temperature is a minor barrier to early human exploration of the planet, while the availability of water is much more significant. All we have to do is find a way to get to Mars and back without having to spend two years in cramped spacecraft.

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“We have bad weather on Mars!” - so it was said in one poem about astronauts, composed in those days when it was still surrounded by a halo of romance ... But really, what is the weather like on the "red planet"?

Speaking of the weather on Earth, we primarily mean the state of the atmosphere. On Mars, it is also there - but not the same as ours. The fact is that Mars, unlike the Earth, does not have magnetic field, which would hold the atmosphere - and sunny wind(a stream of ionized particles from the solar corona) destroys it. Therefore, the atmospheric pressure at the planet's surface is 160 times lower than the earth's. This cannot protect the planet from daily temperature fluctuations (since it does not prevent the radiation of thermal energy into space), therefore, at the equator, the air temperature, rising to +30 ° C during the day, drops to -80 ° C at night, and even lower at the poles - up to -143°C.

But what is very similar for our planets is the angle of inclination of the axis of rotation, “responsible” for the change of seasons on the planet (for the Earth it is 23.439281, and for Mars - 25.19, as you can see - not such a big difference ), so there is also a change of seasons on Mars - they only last twice as long (after all, the Martian year is almost 2 times longer than the earth's - 687 Earth days). There are also climatic zones, seasons differ from hemisphere to hemisphere.

So, in the northern hemisphere, winter comes when Mars is closest to the Sun, and in the southern hemisphere, when it moves away, in summer everything happens the other way around. Therefore, winters in the northern hemisphere are shorter and warmer than in the southern, and summers are longer, but colder.

But most noticeable (at least to an observer from the ground) is the change of seasons in the polar regions covered with ice caps. They never completely disappear, but their size changes. In winter, the distance from the south pole to the border of the south polar cap is half the distance to the equator, and at the north pole - a third of this distance. With the advent of spring, the polar caps decrease, “retreating” towards the poles. At the same time, “dry ice” (frozen carbon dioxide), which makes up the upper layer of ice caps, evaporates, and in the gaseous state is carried by the wind to the opposite pole, where winter sets in at that time - and (therefore, the cap grows at the opposite pole).

On Earth, being interested in the weather forecast, we first of all ask ourselves the question: will it rain? So, on Mars you can not be afraid of rain - with such a low atmospheric pressure liquid water cannot exist. But snow does happen. So, the snow fell on Mars in 1979 in the landing area of ​​the Viking-2 spacecraft, and did not melt for quite a long time - several months.

In lowlands, at the bottom of craters and canyons, there is often fog during the cold hours of the day, and the water vapor present in the atmosphere forms clouds.

But what we should be wary of on Mars (if we ever go there) is hurricane winds, tornadoes and dust storms. Wind speeds of up to 100 m/s are common on Mars, and due to the low gravity, the winds raise a huge amount of dust into the air.

The largest dust storms originate in southern hemisphere Mars in the spring (when the planet warms up quickly) - and can drag on for a long time and cover vast territories. So, from September 1971 to January 1972, a dust storm raged on Mars, engulfing the entire planet - about a billion tons of dust was raised to a 10-kilometer height. This storm almost disrupted the mission of the Mariner 9 spacecraft - due to the dense dust veil, the surface of the planet was impossible to observe. The Mariner's computer had to delay photography (and still no one could vouch for success - it was impossible to predict when the storm would stop).

There are also "dust devils" on Mars - whirlwinds that raise dust and sand into the air. On Earth, such a phenomenon occurs in deserts, but Mars is the entire desert, and such a dusty whirlwind can occur anywhere.

As you can see, the climate of Mars is really not very favorable. And in order for “apple trees to bloom” there, one will either have to change the planet very much, or wait until nature does it ... In any case, mass settlement of Mars is unlikely to take place in the foreseeable future.

The planet Mars has an equatorial diameter of 6787 km, i.e. 0.53 of the Earth's. The polar diameter is somewhat less than the equatorial one (6753 km) due to the polar compression equal to 1/191 (against 1/298 near the Earth). Mars rotates on its axis in much the same way as the Earth: its period of rotation is 24 hours. 37 min. 23 seconds, which is only 41 minutes. 19 sec. longer than the Earth's rotation period. The axis of rotation is inclined to the plane of the orbit at an angle of 65°, almost equal to the angle of inclination of the earth's axis (66°.5). This means that the change of day and night, as well as the change of seasons on Mars, proceed in almost the same way as on Earth. There are also climatic zones similar to those on Earth: tropical (tropical latitude ± 25 °), two temperate and two polar (polar circle latitude ± 65 °).

However, due to the remoteness of Mars from the Sun and the rarefaction of the atmosphere, the climate of the planet is much more severe than that of the earth. The year of Mars (687 Earth or 668 Martian days) is almost twice as long as the Earth, which means that the seasons last longer. Due to the large eccentricity of the orbit (0.09), the duration and nature of the seasons of Mars are different in the northern and southern hemispheres of the planet.

Thus, in the northern hemisphere of Mars, summers are long but cool, and winters are short and mild (Mars is close to perihelion at this time), while in the southern hemisphere, summers are short but warm, and winters are long and harsh. On the disk of Mars in the middle of the XVII century. dark and light areas were seen. In 1784

V. Herschel drew attention to seasonal changes in the size of white spots near the poles (polar caps). In 1882, the Italian astronomer G. Schiaparelli compiled detailed map Mars and gave a system of names for the details of its surface; highlighting among the dark spots "seas" (in Latin mare), "lakes" (lacus), "bays" (sinus), "swamps" (palus), "straits" (freturn), "sources" (fens), " capes" (promontorium) and "regions" (regio). All these terms were, of course, purely conventional.

The temperature regime on Mars looks like this. In the daytime around the equator, if Mars is near perihelion, the temperature can rise to +25°C (about 300°K). But by evening, it drops to zero and below, and during the night the planet cools even more, since the rarefied dry atmosphere of the planet cannot retain the heat received from the Sun during the day.

The average temperature on Mars is much lower than on Earth - about -40 ° C. Under the most favorable conditions in the summer in the daytime half of the planet, the air warms up to 20 ° C - quite an acceptable temperature for the inhabitants of the Earth. But on a winter night, frost can reach up to -125 ° C. At winter temperatures, even carbon dioxide freezes, turning into dry ice. Such sharp temperature drops are caused by the fact that the rarefied atmosphere of Mars is not able to retain heat for a long time. The first measurements of the temperature of Mars using a thermometer placed at the focus of a reflecting telescope were carried out as early as the early 1920s. Measurements by W. Lampland in 1922 gave an average surface temperature of Mars of -28°C, E. Pettit and S. Nicholson in 1924 obtained -13°C. A lower value was obtained in 1960. W. Sinton and J. Strong: -43°C. Later, in the 50s and 60s. Numerous temperature measurements were accumulated and summarized at various points on the surface of Mars, in different seasons and times of the day. From these measurements, it followed that during the day at the equator the temperature can reach up to +27°C, but by morning it can reach -50°C.

The Viking spacecraft measured the temperature near the surface after landing on Mars. Despite the fact that at that time it was summer in the southern hemisphere, the temperature of the atmosphere near the surface in the morning was -160°C, but by the middle of the day it rose to -30°C. The pressure of the atmosphere at the surface of the planet is 6 millibars (i.e. 0.006 atmospheres). Above the continents (deserts) of Mars, clouds of fine dust constantly rush, which is always lighter than the rocks from which it is formed. Dust also increases the brightness of the continents in the red rays.

Under the influence of winds and tornadoes, dust on Mars can rise into the atmosphere and stay in it for quite some time. Strong dust storms were observed in the southern hemisphere of Mars in 1956, 1971 and 1973. As shown by spectral observations in infrared rays, in the atmosphere of Mars (as in the atmosphere of Venus) the main component is carbon dioxide (CO3). Long-term searches for oxygen and water vapor at first did not give reliable results at all, and then it was found that oxygen in the atmosphere of Mars is no more than 0.3%.