Few people know why Mars is called the red planet.
There is a lot of dust and iron oxide on the surface of Mars. Take a look at the night sky and you can always tell Mars by its red color. But when you look at photographs taken of Mars itself, you will find that the planet is multicolored, not monochromatic.
What makes Mars a red planet? The answer lies in chemistry, not astronomy. As the Curiosity rover continues to explore this amazing planet, it's time to learn more about it.
Mars in art. Ann Marie Helmenstein, Ph.D., on the pages of About.com, gives a simple answer to this question. The surface of Mars contains a lot of dust and iron oxide. Iron oxide dust floats through the red planet's atmosphere and settles across its landscape.
Greenery on Mars- not vegetable. For this reason, from outer space, Mars looks like it is covered in rust. The rest of the colors are simply lost in this dust. Red is the primary color, although some iron oxides can be brown, black, and even green.
Just because you know that the color green is found on the Martian surface does not mean that there are plants there. Most likely, some rocks on Mars are just that color. Some rocks on Earth are also green and without vegetation.
Where does this dust come from? But why is there more iron oxide in the atmosphere of Mars than in the gas blanket of any other planet? Scientists have not come to a clear conclusion on this issue, but many experts believe that this dust appeared as a result of volcanic eruptions.
Solar radiation causes atmospheric water to evaporate, and the steam reacts with iron, oxidizing it and forming iron oxides. Iron oxides can also be a reaction product of iron meteorites. Iron, when exposed to ultraviolet solar radiation, reacts with oxygen. As a result, iron oxides are formed.
Iron oxides. Iron oxides are, as stated on the pages of the resource wiceGEEK, a group of chemical compounds consisting of iron and oxygen. Most of them arise during natural processes. They form in the soil, rocks and rocks.
Not all iron oxides are useful for human civilization, but some of them play key roles in industry, cosmetology and art. Manufacturers often use them as a pigmenting agent. Their electronic and magnetic properties are used in bank cards and digital scanning devices.
Scientists estimate that 5% of the Earth's surface consists of iron. It is also found in the core of our planet. Iron converts to its oxide form when exposed to oxygen. Not only with this gas in its pure form, but also with the compounds in which it is contained. For example, with water.
Therefore, iron immersed in water rusts, that is, oxidizes. When iron comes into contact with water or air, sooner or later it will develop a reddish-brown coating of rust. The same dust that makes Mars red to observers.
Experts believe that in the Proterozoic era (about 1.6 billion years ago), sea water erupted onto the soil, which gave rise to deposits of iron ore, that is, iron oxides. In cosmetology, various iron oxides are used as pigmenting agents.
Most of these compounds are considered non-toxic, water-repellent and non-bleeding. In addition, the oxides in question can also be found in talc powder and some face and body creams. Some sunscreens also contain iron oxides.
Their structure helps to partially block ultraviolet rays harmful to human skin. Did you know before that iron oxides not only “color” the fourth planet of the Solar System red, but are also widely used in the cosmetics industry?
It is well known that one of the planets in our solar system, Mars, is red. However, there are not many who can explain this fact. Images from space indicate that the surface of the planet is deserted, rocky, and the soil has a reddish tint. Actually, why?
From a scientific point of view
So, according to a comparative analysis based on a detailed study of photographs of the surface of this planet, scientists came to the conclusion that Mars outwardly resembles the desert territories of one of the American states - Arizona. By the way, the soil there is also brown.
It is believed that carbon dioxide is to blame. This mineral has the property of reflecting red rays, and therefore it is painted in this color. Actually, this is how we see it, because the human eye only catches the reflection, and not the object itself. To put it simply, the soil of Mars is apparently full of rust, which is brown in color and therefore gives a similar tint to the soil. Mars looks almost like an old and rusty cast iron frying pan.
The wind drives tiny particles of Martian soil across the entire surface of this planet, covering the volcanic rocks with a rather thick layer of rust. But if a storm arises on Mars, then it is definitely not like any on Earth. Around the planet, above its surface, a rather dense red cloud rises, which circles at incredible speed, thus lifting the top layer of soil into the air. There is already a lot of dust on Mars, but after such weather events it does not settle down for a long time. By the way, such dusty clouds create a kind of red glow around the planet, which further convinces us, outside observers, that this is a red planet.
Mars is significantly different from our Earth. The first and main thing is the size: it is almost twice as small. Secondly, due to its size, the force of gravity there is also less, by two-thirds. It turns out that something that weighs a hundredweight on Earth will be quite light on Mars, weighing 35 - 38 kilograms.
Assumptions about the origin of Martian soil
Scientists, looking at photographs of Mars, as well as itself, saw dried river beds on the surface of the planet. It turns out that there was once water on Mars. But if there was, it was a very long time ago. According to scientists, it disappeared no later than 2 billion years ago. But this, in fact, is the reason for the oxidation of iron-rich soil. The water that has not disappeared is on the planet in the form of ice, or more precisely, permafrost. It is this that gradually nourishes the soil and thereby prevents its red color from fading over time. So the red planet has at least another 2 billion years to be red.
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Experts from NASA told the world why the Red Planet, called Mars, has its own color and this relief.
Mars or just the Red Planet...
Mars, like almost all the planets of the solar system, bears the name of the god of war and is the fourth in line from our luminous star - . Its red disk initially looked terrifying in a telescope, which is why it was nicknamed that. In addition, Mars also has another name "Red Planet". Mars is accompanied by two satellites, whose names correspond, translated as “fear” and “horror”. Mars is an unusual planet that attracts a lot of attention, but is quite aggressive towards invasion from space, compared to Venus, although its conditions are more severe. Two names are attributed to Mars - “the cradle of ancient civilization” or simply a “dead” planet.
It is more convenient to study the Red Planet at a certain time. When our planet Earth is located exactly in the middle between the hot Sun and red Mars, this is called opposition, it repeats every twenty-six months. When opposition begins, Mars is visible throughout the night as a bright star, not even inferior in brightness to the cosmic steam room - Venus.
The Red Planet orbits in the form of an ellipse...
As for the orbit, it has a clearly defined ellipse shape, and therefore, the distance to Earth changes significantly during such an event. The planet's rotation axis is at an angle, just like that of the Earth, only with a difference of only one and a half percent. And for this reason, reversing in orbit in , Mars presents us with either its northern hemisphere or its southern one. From this follows the conclusion that on Mars, like on our planet, there is a change of seasons, only they last there 2 times longer, and a day on Mars is thirty-seven minutes longer than on Earth.
Photograph of Mars and Earth...
On the Red Planet, gravity is 3 times less than on Earth...
The force of gravity on Red Mars, in comparison with Earth, is three times less, and this is due to the fact that the planet has a relatively small mass. The core supposedly occupies up to half the volume of the entire Red Planet, and it is partially or completely only in a liquid state.
The thickness of the crust of Mars is approximately eighty-five kilometers, which is enriched in iron, which is why the Red Planet has a red color.
Mars has not completely cooled down yet...
Mars continues to cool, and its volcanic activity is not significant. The surface of the Red Planet slightly resembles the surface of the Moon, but this is only an appearance, and in fact, the planet’s topography is quite diverse. During the entire study of Mars, volcanic eruptions and marsquakes were observed on it. Meteorites, asteroids, ice, water and even simple wind contributed to the change in topography at the surface.
Mars has plains and mountains….
In the northern hemisphere of Mars, young flat surfaces are concentrated, and in the southern hemisphere, on the contrary, there are ancient mountains. Such an incomprehensible and uneven arrangement is still not clear, but it is possible that such a relief could have been caused by an Asteroid falling on the planet.
Two-thirds of the Red Planet is covered with craters formed due to falling meteorites, but over time, they have lost their shape under the influence of water and other Martian elements.
In the southern hemisphere, under the influence of volcanoes, mountainous terrain was formed. As the flowing lava spread across the plains and solidified, new streams flowed across it, thereby forming mountainous surfaces. Under the influence of hot rivers of lava, the underground ice of Mars melted, thereby forming ravines and cracks. The vast expanses of the northern hemisphere are dominated by deserts with numerous dunes closer to the pole itself.
Multiple volcanic formations indicate that a huge number of volcanoes were active on Mars in the past. Their activity stopped about a billion years ago.
Photos of Mars...
Percentage of red ironstone at the surface in Meridiani Planum on Mars (5 percent to 25 percent). Opportunity landed in a black oval. MER scientists say the rocks there were once saturated with water
Many of us believe that Mars is red because its surface has been corroded by the water that once flooded the red planet. The presence of red iron ore found by orbiters and rovers researched on Mars is explained by the fact that water was once present on Mars. However, according to a new study, that might not be the case.
Research by Dr Jonathan Merrison of Aarhus at the Modeling Laboratory shows that the red dust covering Mars may be formed by the ongoing grinding of surface rocks. Liquid water should not play a significant role in the formation of red dust.
“In reality, Mars should appear black between its white polar caps because most of the rocks in the mid-latitudes are basalt,” Merrison noted. "For decades, we have assumed that reddish areas on Mars are associated with the planet's early water history, and that in at least some areas water oxidized iron."
But as it turns out, even though dust is ubiquitous, we do not fully understand its physical, chemical and geological properties.
Merrison and his team attempted to obtain precise data on the composition and mineralogy of Mars in order to understand the structure and development of the surface environment and its interaction with the atmosphere.
In a recent laboratory study, scientists from the Mars Modeling Laboratory introduced a new technique to simulate the transport of sand on Mars. They hermetically sealed sand (quartz) in glass jars and mechanically “chattered” them for several months, turning each jar ten million times. After this turning of the sand over a period of seven months, almost 10% of the sand was reduced to dust. When scientists added magnetite to the flask (iron oxide is present in Martian basalt), they were surprised to see it turn redder.
"Subsequent analysis of the flask material and dust revealed that the magnetite was converted into the red mineral red ironstone through a completely mechanical process without the presence of water at any stage of the process," Dr Merrison said.
As usually happens, the study will then undergo more thorough experimental and analytical work. But already the first experiments show that this process occurs not only in air, but also in a dried atmosphere of carbon dioxide, that is, in conditions that are remarkably similar to those present on Mars. This could also mean that the reddish Martian dust is geologically recent.
Scientists around the world continue to develop new and improved computer models and Earth-based simulators to try to penetrate the red planet's mysteries.
“By modeling conditions and developing accurate analogues of the Martian environment, we will certainly gain a deeper understanding of its dusty nature. In particular, the development of better analogues of the Martian surface and atmosphere is vital in interpreting observations made by missions on Mars, and will also guide future experiments,” said Dr Merrison.
Merrison presented his findings at the European Planetary Science Congress last week.
