Albedo 0.15 (geometric) or 0.25 (bond)[5]Surface temp.KelvinCelsius min mean max186 K 227 K 268 K[4]?87 C ?46 C ?5 C
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Apparent magnitude +1.8 to ?2.91[5]Angular diameter 3.525.1"[5]
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AtmosphereSurface pressure 0.6C1.0 kPa
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Composition 95.72% Carbon dioxide2.7% Nitrogen1.6% Argon0.2% Oxygen0.07% Carbon monoxide0.03% Water vapor0.01% Nitric oxide2.5 ppm Neon300 ppb Krypton130 ppb Formaldehyde80 ppb Xenon30 ppb Ozone10 ppb Methane Mars (pronounced /?mrz/) is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System.
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The planet is named after Mars, the Roman god of war. It is also referred to asthe "Red Planet" because of its reddish appearance, due to iron oxide prevalent onits surface.Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, having surface featuresreminiscent both of the impact craters of the Moon and the volcanoes, valleys,deserts and polar ice caps of Earth. It is the site of Olympus Mons, the highestknown mountain in the Solar System, and of Valles Marineris, the largest canyon.Furthermore, in June 2008 three articles published in Nature presented evidence ofan enormous impact crater in Mars' northern hemisphere, 10,600 km long by 8,500 kmwide, or roughly four times larger than the largest impact crater yet discovered,the South Pole-Aitken basin.[6][7] In addition to its geographical features,Mars rotational period and seasonal cycles are likewise similar to those of
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Earth.Until the first flyby of Mars by Mariner 4 in 1965, many speculated that theremight be liquid water on the planet's surface. This was based on observations ofperiodic variations in light and dark patches, particularly in the polarlatitudes, which looked like seas and continents, while long, dark striations wereinterpreted by some observers as irrigation channels for liquid water. Thesestraight line features were later proven not to exist and were instead explainedas optical illusions. Still, of all the planets in the Solar System other thanEarth, Mars is the most likely to harbor liquid water, and perhaps life.[8] Radardata from Mars Express and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed thepresence of large quantities of water ice both at the poles (July 2005)[9] and atmid-latitudes (November 2008).[10] The Phoenix Mars Lander directly sampled waterice in shallow martian soil on July 31, 2008.[11]
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