Mars is a planet terrestrial group(4th farthest from the Sun). The atmosphere is rarefied, and the topography is a complex of impact craters, volcanic mountains, deserts, valleys, and polar ice caps. The main color of the planet is red-orange due to iron oxide, which is why it is called the red planet. There are also other colors: golden, brown, greenish-brown. This variety of shades comes from the minerals present in the soil.

The soil density is lower than on Earth. It is equal to 3.933 g/cm³, and near the Earth this indicator correspond to 5.518 g/cm³. The size of Mars relative to Earth is not in favor of the former. The red planet's diameter is approximately half that of Earth, with a surface area slightly less than Earth's land area. In numbers it looks like this:

Equatorial radius: 3396.2 km (0.52 Earth);

Polar radius: 3376.2 km (0.51 Earth);

Average radius: 3389.5 km (0.53 Earth);

Surface area: 144,371,391 sq. km (0.25 Earth).

For comparison, the land area of ​​the blue planet Earth is 148,939,063 square meters. km. This is only 29.2% of the total area of ​​the Earth. The rest is occupied by seas and oceans.

You should also know that the volume of Mars is 15% of the volume of the blue planet, and its mass reaches 11% of the Earth’s. Accordingly, gravity is only 38% of Earth’s. In numbers, the mass of the red planet is: 6.423 × 10 23 kg, against the earth’s 5.974 × 10 24 kg.

The topography of Mars has many unique features. The red planet has the most high mountain in the solar system – Mount Olympus (27 km in height). And also the largest Mariner Canyon. There is nothing like this on any other planet solar system. However, on Pluto's moon Charon, the canyon is large.

Southern and right hemisphere radically different in their relief. There is a hypothesis that almost the entire northern hemisphere is an impact crater. In terms of area, it occupies almost 40% of the planet's surface, and if it is indeed a crater, then it is the largest in the Solar System.

This hypothetical crater is called the North Pole Basin. Some experts believe that it was formed 4 billion years ago from the impact of a cosmic body with a diameter of 1900 km and a mass that was 2% of the mass of Mars. But at present this basin is not recognized as an impact crater.

The external dimensions of Mars are not very impressive. The Red Planet is noticeably inferior to Earth in all respects. In addition, it has a weak magnetic field, which is directly connected to the interior of the cosmic body. The semi-liquid core has a radius of about 1800 km. It consists of iron, nickel and 17% sulfur. It contains 2 times more light elements than the Earth. Around the core is the mantle. Volcanic and tectonic processes depend on it, but it is currently inactive.

The interior of the red planet is “packed” into the Martian crust. It is dominated by elements such as iron, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and aluminum. The average thickness of the crust is 50 km, and the maximum is 125 km. Thickness earth's crust on average is 40 km, so in this indicator Mars wins over the blue planet. But overall it represents a small cosmic body, which is the second most important neighbor of the Earth after the Moon.

Vladislav Ivanov

Earth and Mars have a lot in common. They share similar terrain, although Mars lacks significant amounts of water, oxygen and the atmospheric pressure needed to support life as we know it. Compared to our planet, Mars also has less mass and is smaller in size—just over half the size of Earth or twice the size of the Moon.
The similarities between Mars and Earth give scientists the opportunity to argue that we are colonizing Mars.

Mars has four seasons

Like Earth, Mars has four seasons. Unlike Earth, where each season lasts three months, the length of Mars' seasons varies by hemisphere.
A Martian year is equal to 687 Earth days, almost twice as long as on Earth.
In the northern hemisphere of the Red Planet, spring lasts seven Earth months, summer lasts six months, autumn lasts 5.3 months, and winter lasts just over four months.
Martian summer in the northern hemisphere is very cold. Often the temperature does not exceed -20 degrees Celsius.
IN southern hemisphere temperatures can be up to +30 degrees Celsius in summer. What a stark contrast!

A Martian day is slightly longer than an Earth day


A day is determined by how long it takes for the planet to rotate on its axis. The longer the revolution, the longer the day.
On Earth, a day lasts 24 hours. On Jupiter it is 9 hours, 55 minutes and 29.69 seconds. On Venus it lasts 116 days and 18 hours. On Mars it is 24 hours and 40 minutes. Why do Earth and Mars have almost the same day length? Pure coincidence.

There is water on Mars


In 2008, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) discovered that water flows down some slopes on Mars. The water only flows in the summer, which means it freezes in the cold winter.

Mars has polar poles covered in ice


As on Earth, northern and south poles on Mars are covered with ice caps. However, the same glaciers exist in central latitudes. Previously, scientists had not seen glaciers because they were hidden under a thick layer of dust.
Dust may be the reason why glaciers have not evaporated. Mars has a very low atmospheric pressure, which causes any water or ice to evaporate immediately. Ice sublimates from ice to vapor without becoming liquid.
Scientists have determined that Mars contains more than 150 billion cubic meters ice, this is enough to cover the entire surface of the planet to a depth of 1 meter. Is this ice formed from frozen water, mud or carbon dioxide, is not yet known exactly. Even if it consists of water, is the water the same as on Earth? Scientists have not yet come to a consensus.

There are waterfalls on Mars


By analyzing images taken by NASA of Mars Orbit (MRO), scientists have discovered phenomena similar to Earth's waterfalls. However, Martian waterfalls are not flows of water, but of lava, which behaves like water.

Mars is the only habitable planet other than Earth


The planets of our solar system that are similar to Earth are, first of all: Mercury, Venus and Mars, they have a rocky surface and we could land on them.
Some planets are called gas giants, these include: Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, we cannot land on them, they lack a solid surface.
Only Earth has life, apparently there was life on Mars, but in order for earthlings to live there now, they need special equipment and means for survival.
Scientists considering the colonization of Mars have proposed creating an artificial magnetic field by placing a magnetic generator between Mars and the Sun. This will create a magnetic field to protect Mars from the solar wind, which is depleting the atmosphere. With the loss of solar wind, the atmospheric pressure on Mars will increase. This in turn will cause the temperature to rise, CO2 will be released due to greenhouse effect which will cause a flow of water. Although the plan sounds ambitious, we don't even have the technology to create magnetic field.

The Martian landscape is similar to Earth's in some places


Scientists suggest that the relief on Mars was formed in the same way as on Earth. IN in rare cases new islands suddenly rise from the ocean. For 150 years, scientists observed three such islands after underwater volcanic eruptions off the coast of southern Tonga. Pacific Ocean... Scientists have concluded that this is how the relief was formed on Mars.

There could be life on Mars


Although life on Mars has not yet been found, scientists still believe that it exists or was...
In Martian Gale Crater, which was a lake 3.5 billion years ago, scientists have discovered organic molecules.
Every living thing contains four organic molecules: proteins, nucleic acids, fats and carbohydrates. Without them, the organism cannot exist (at least in the form as we know it).
The existence of these molecules may indicate life on Mars, but some inanimate objects may contain these molecules, making the discovery inconclusive.
However, scientists have found something else that proves the existence of life on Mars. Methane. Living things produce methane. In fact, most of the methane on Earth is produced by living things. And the atmosphere of Mars contains methane
Scientists believe that methane is formed due to chemical reactions or it is created by microbes. Moreover, the amount of methane increases in summer and decreases in winter.

Plants can grow on Mars


Experiments were carried out on planting potatoes in special containers that reproduced the harsh climate of Mars. The soil was sterilized so that there were no microbes there to promote growth. But the experiment was not “clean”; it is almost impossible to carry potatoes to Mars intact. But you can bring in lettuce, cabbage, garlic and hops. They reproduce by seeds rather than tubers and are easier to preserve.

Comparative sizes of the planet

The planets Mars and Venus are two celestial bodies most similar to Earth. Both are visible to the naked eye and represent the two brightest objects in the night sky.

Venus orbits at an average distance of only 108 million km from the Sun, and Mars 228 million km. Venus approaches Earth at 38 million km, and Mars only at 55.7 million km.

Size comparison

In terms of size, Venus is almost the twin of planet Earth. Its diameter is 12,104 km, which is equal to 95% of the Earth's diameter. It is much smaller, with a diameter of only 6,792 km. And again, in terms of mass, Venus is almost a twin of our planet. It has 81% of the Earth's mass, while the red planet has only 10% of the Earth's mass.

Climate

The climates of the planets are very different, and very different from Earth. The surface temperature of the second planet from the Sun averages 461 °C over its entire surface. This is enough to melt lead. While the average temperature on Mars is -46 °C. This temperature difference occurs because Venus is closer to the Sun and has a thick carbon dioxide atmosphere. Its atmosphere is almost 100 times thicker than that of Earth, while the atmosphere on Mars is 1% of ours.

Studying

Mars is the most studied planet in the solar system. Dozens of missions have been sent, including orbiters and rovers. Although many missions failed, there were several successful ones, including those still in operation today. Many missions have also been launched to Venus, but due to the aggressive conditions, we were only able to get a few photographs from the surface.

Mars has two satellites, Phobos and Deimos, but Venus has no satellites, just as both planets do not have rings.

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Often occur even with the participation of gray-haired old men. This question is often asked by inquisitive children who have heard somewhere fantastic stories about mysterious celestial bodies. Schoolchildren, who have not yet gotten rid of the feeling of their exclusivity, compare the size of Mars and Earth, as well as all other planets, trying to prove to their opponents the superiority of their own homeland over all other space objects.

History of the issue

In principle, there is nothing surprising in this - after all, even the great Claudius Ptolemy, who created a system for calculating the movement of celestial bodies that was surprisingly accurate for his time, invariably placed the Earth at the center of the universe. Without bothering themselves with unnecessary thoughts, for many centuries many intellectually developed representatives of humanity did the same, taking the opportunity, on occasion, to refer to the opinion of a recognized authority. Expressing your own thoughts on the structure of the universe was even dangerous, since the intellectuals who created tools for enriching themselves and maintaining power on the basis of existing knowledge saw a threat to their own privileges in every fresh look at things and brutally dealt with innovators. During the existence of the Holy Inquisition, those who asked the question “what is greater - Mars or Earth” in 90% of cases were guaranteed a cleansing fire at the stake.

Things changed after Johannes Kepler's discovery of the laws of motion of celestial bodies and Isaac Newton's research on mechanics and gravitation. Using the formulas obtained and very accurate astrometric observations using a new instrument - a telescope, the mass of Mars and the mass of the Earth were determined.

Development of research on the planets of the solar system

It is immediately necessary to clarify that masses were then determined in relative units, which could not be compared with the kilogram standard. As a result, even knowing that Mars smaller than Earth, it was impossible to answer exactly how much. To give the answer, we first needed to calculate exact value gravitational constant from Newton's formula.

The first are comparatively successful experiments to determine the average absolute density of the earth were carried out by the remarkable scientist Henry Cavendish. However, during his lifetime, the results of his work were not published, and his reports at meetings of the Royal Society of London were not understood and appreciated by its members. About amazing experiences, including the discovery of the law of conservation of charge (before Coulomb), analysis of the composition of atmospheric air and quite precise definition gravitational constant values scientific world I found out only years later. The descendant of an excellent researcher and, concurrently, a lord and son of the second Duke of Devoshir, donated a large sum to the opening of the now famous Cavendish Laboratory, and at the same time handed over to its first director, James Maxwell, the records of his ancestor, stored in the family archive. Amazed by what he read, the future famous researcher of electromagnetism published information about the outstanding experiments of his fellow countryman.

Modern representations

Author famous stories about Tarzan, Edgar Burroughs was also interested in the size of Mars and Earth. Using scientific data on accelerations free fall on different planets, he created a series of exciting works about the adventures of earthling John Carter, caught in the weak gravity of Barsoom.

Interplanetary launches spacecraft made it possible to clarify how much smaller Mars is than Earth, and also to find out many interesting details. By modern estimates The mass of Mars is 10.7% of the mass of the Earth, and its diameter is 53% of the diameter of our planet. However, the highest altitude has been discovered on Mars. at the moment mountain in the solar system - Olympus volcano, with a height exceeding 21 km.

So, we have answered the question of which planet is larger - Mars or Earth, but there are still many secrets in the world of space that have yet to be discovered.

Education

What is bigger - Mars or Earth? Comparison of the sizes of Mars and Earth

January 6, 2016

Since ancient times, humanity has turned its gaze to the stars. But if before people addressed to celestial bodies only as higher beings capable of influencing their lives with their wonderful properties, now these views have a much more pragmatic character.

Mars in ancient times

The first name given to the planet was Ares. This is how the ancient Greeks named the red planet, which reminded people of war, in honor of the god of war. At a time when no one cared what was bigger, Mars or Earth, power was everything. That is why the ancient Romans replaced the Greeks. They brought their ideas about the world, life, their names. They also renamed the star, symbolizing evil, cruelty and grief. She was named after the Roman god of war, Mars.

Many centuries have passed since then, it has long been found out that it is more, Mars or Earth, it has become clear that the planet is far from being as cruel and powerful as the ancient Greeks and Romans imagined, but interest in the planet has not disappeared, and with each century everything is only intensified.

Life on Mars

The first sketch of Mars was made public in 1659 in Naples. Francesco Fontana, a Neapolitan astronomer and lawyer, initiated a cycle of research that hit the planet over the centuries.

Giovanni Schiaparelli in 1877 surpassed Fontana's achievements by making not just a drawing, but a map of the entire planet. Taking advantage of the Great Confrontation, which allowed him to take a close look at Mars, he discovered certain channels and dark areas on our neighbor in the solar system. Without wasting time thinking about which planet is bigger: Mars or Earth, humanity decided that these were products of an alien civilization. It began to be believed that the canals were irrigation systems that the aliens directed to water the vegetation zones - those very dark areas. The water in the canals, according to most, came from the ice caps at the planet's poles.

The scientist who discovered all these geological objects did not initially have anything like this in mind. However, over time, under the influence of the enthusiasm of the majority, he believed in such a popular hypothesis. He even wrote a work “On Intelligent Life on Mars,” where he explained the ideal straightness of the channels precisely by the activities of alien farmers.

However, already in 1907, a geographer from Great Britain in his book “Is Mars Inhabited?” disproved this theory using all the research available at that time. He finally proved that life on Mars is, in principle, impossible for highly organized beings, despite the fact that Mars is larger or smaller in size than the Earth.

Video on the topic

The truth about channels

The existence of arrow-straight channels was confirmed by photographs of the planet in 1924. Surprisingly, most astronomers observing Mars have never seen this phenomenon. However, by 1939, by the time of the next Great Confrontation, about 500 channels were counted in images of the planet.

Everything was finally clarified only in 1965, when Mariner 4 flew so close to Mars that it was able to photograph it from a distance of only 10 thousand kilometers. These images showed a lifeless desert with craters. All dark zones and channels turned out to be just an illusion caused by distortion during observations through a telescope. There is nothing like this in reality on the planet.

Mars

So, what is bigger: Mars or Earth? The mass of Mars is only 10.7% of the mass of the Earth. Its diameter at the equator is almost half that of Earth - 6,794 kilometers versus 12,756 km. A year on Mars lasts 687 Earth days, a day is 37 minutes longer than ours. There is a change of seasons on the planet, but no one would rejoice at the onset of summer on Mars - this is the harshest season, winds of up to 100 m/s sweep across the planet, clouds of dust cover the sky, covering sunlight. However, the winter months also cannot please us with the weather - the temperature does not rise above minus one hundred degrees. The atmosphere consists of carbon dioxide, which lies in huge snow caps at the planet's poles during the winter months. These hats never completely melt. The density of the atmosphere is only one percent of the earth's.

But you don’t need to think that there is no water on the planet - huge glaciers have been found at the foot of the largest volcanic mountain in the solar system - Olympus ordinary water. Their thickness reaches one hundred meters, total area- several thousand kilometers. In addition, formations similar to dried river beds were found on the surface. The results of the study prove that fast flows of water once flowed along these rivers.

Research

In the 20th century, not only unmanned aircraft were sent to Mars space stations, but also rovers were launched, thanks to which it became possible to obtain soil samples of the red planet. We now have accurate data about chemical composition atmosphere and surface of the planet, about the nature of its seasons, we have photographs of all areas of Mars. NASA's Mars rovers, reconnaissance satellite and orbiter have a busy schedule, with literally not a single free minute until 2030.

Prospects

It is no secret that humanity spends enormous, simply cosmic, funds on the study of Mars. The answer to the question of what is bigger, Mars or Earth, has long been answered, but we have not lost interest in this planet. What's the matter? What interested scientists so much that states spent such sums on studying the barren desert?

Although it is entirely possible to have rare earth elements, mining them and transporting them to Earth is simply not cost-effective. Science for science's sake? Perhaps, but not in the situation that is now developing on our own planet to waste resources on studying empty planets.

The fact is that today, when even a child will not ask the question of how much larger Mars is than the Earth, the problem of overpopulation of the blue planet is very acute. In addition to the immediate shortage residential areas the need for fresh water, in food, the political and economic situation in all, especially environmentally friendly areas. And the more active a person lives, the faster we move towards disaster.

The idea of ​​the “Golden Billion” has long been put forward, according to which one billion people can live safely on Earth. The rest need...

And this is where Mars can come to the rescue. Is he more or less than the Earth? in this case not that important. Its total area is approximately equal to the land area of ​​our planet. Thus, it is quite possible to settle a couple of billion people on it. The distance to Mars is not critical; the journey to it will take much less time than in ancient times it took from Rome to China. But it was regularly done by traders. Thus, all that remains is to create favorable conditions for the life of earthlings on Mars. And this will be quite possible after some time, because scientific progress is moving forward with giant steps.

And it is unknown who will win this competition, Earth and Mars: which is more suitable for life in a few decades - the answer to this question awaits us ahead.