Mars belongs to the terrestrial planets (4th in terms of distance 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 for the Earth this figure corresponds 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 in the 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 everything North 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 in general, it is a small cosmic body, which is the second most important neighbor of the Earth after the Moon.

Vladislav Ivanov

Since ancient times, humanity has turned its gaze to the stars. But if earlier people turned to celestial bodies only as higher beings capable of influencing their lives with their miraculous 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 which 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.

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 most harsh season, winds of up to 100 m/s sweep across the planet, clouds of dust cover the sky, covering sunlight. However, winter months They also cannot please us with the weather - the temperature does not rise above minus one hundred degrees. The atmosphere consists of carbon dioxide, which in the winter months lies in huge snow caps at the poles of the planet. 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 were 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 up 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 Mars more than Earth, the problem of overpopulation of the blue planet is very acute. In addition to the immediate shortage of living space, the need for fresh water, in food, the political and economic situation is deteriorating in all, especially environmentally favorable zones. 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. More or smaller than Earth he - in this case is not so 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.

The sun holds the planets and other bodies belonging to the solar system with its gravity.

Other bodies are planets and their satellites, dwarf planets and them satellites, asteroids, meteoroids, comets and cosmic dust. But in this article we will only talk about the planets of the solar system. They make up most of the mass of objects associated with the Sun by gravity (attraction). There are only eight of them: Mercury, Venus, Earth Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune . The planets are named in order of their distance from the Sun. Until recently, the planets of the solar system also included Pluto, the smallest planet, but in 2006 Pluto was deprived of planet status because Many objects more massive than Pluto have been discovered in the outer solar system. Following the reclassification, Pluto was added to the list of minor planets and received catalog number 134340 from the Minor Planet Center. But some scientists disagree with this and continue to believe that Pluto should be reclassified back to a planet.

Four planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars - are called terrestrial planets. They are also called inner planets, because their orbits lie inside the Earth's orbit. What the terrestrial planets have in common is that they consist of silicates (minerals) and metals.

Four other planets - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune - they call gas giants, because they are mainly composed of hydrogen and helium and are much more massive than the terrestrial planets. They are also called outer planets.

Look at the picture of the terrestrial planets scaled by their sizes in relation to each other: Earth and Venus are about the same size, and Mercury is the smallest planet among the terrestrial planets (from left to right: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars).

What unites the terrestrial planets, as we have already said, is their composition, as well as the fact that they have a small number of satellites and that they do not have rings. Three inner planets(Venus, Earth and Mars) have an atmosphere (a gaseous shell around a celestial body held by gravity); all have impact craters, rift basins and volcanoes.

Let us now consider each of the terrestrial planets.

Mercury

It is located closest to the Sun and is the smallest planet in the solar system, its mass is 3.3 × 10 23 kg, which is 0.055 the mass of the Earth. The radius of Mercury is only 2439.7 ± 1.0 km. The average density of Mercury is quite high - 5.43 g/cm³, which is slightly less than the density of Earth. Considering that the Earth is larger in size, the density value of Mercury indicates an increased content of metals in its depths.

The planet got its name in honor of ancient roman god trade of Mercury: he was fleet-footed, and the planet moves through the sky faster than other planets. Mercury has no satellites. Its only known geological features, other than impact craters, are numerous jagged escarpments extending for hundreds of kilometers. Mercury has an extremely thin atmosphere, a relatively large iron core and a thin crust, the origin of which is currently a mystery. Although there is a hypothesis: the outer layers of the planet, consisting of light elements, were torn off as a result of a giant collision, which reduced the size of the planet and also prevented the complete absorption of Mercury by the young Sun. The hypothesis is very interesting, but requires confirmation.

Mercury revolves around the Sun in 88 Earth days.

Mercury has not yet been sufficiently studied; only in 2009 was it compiled full map based on images from the Mariner 10 and Messenger spacecraft. The planet’s natural satellites have not yet been discovered, and it is not easy to see in the sky due to its small angular distance from the Sun.

Venus

It is the second inner planet of the solar system. It orbits the Sun in 224.7 Earth days. The planet is close in size to Earth, its mass is 4.8685ˑ10 24 kg, which is 0.815 Earth's mass. Like Earth, it has a thick silicate shell around an iron core and an atmosphere. Venus is the third brightest object in the Earth's sky after the Sun and Moon. It is believed that internal geological activity occurs within the planet. The amount of water on Venus is much less than on Earth, and its atmosphere is ninety times denser. Venus has no satellites. This is the hottest planet, its surface temperature exceeds 400 °C. Most probable cause Astronomers believe such a high temperature Greenhouse effect, arising from a dense atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide, which accounts for approximately 96.5%. The atmosphere on Venus was discovered by M. V. Lomonosov in 1761.

Evidence geological activity not found on Venus, but since it does not have magnetic field, which would prevent the depletion of its essential atmosphere, this allows us to assume that its atmosphere is regularly replenished volcanic eruptions. Venus is sometimes called " sister of the earth“- they really have a lot in common: similar sizes, gravity and composition. But there are still more differences. The surface of Venus is covered with thick clouds of highly reflective sulfuric acid clouds, so its surface cannot be seen in visible light. But radio waves were able to penetrate its atmosphere, and with their help its relief was explored. Scientists have debated for a long time about what lies under the thick clouds of Venus. And only in the 20th century, the science of planetology established that the atmosphere of Venus, consisting mainly of carbon dioxide, is explained by the fact that on Venus there is no carbon cycle and no life that could process it into biomass. Scientists believe that once upon a time, a very long time ago, oceans similar to those on Earth existed on Venus, but they completely evaporated due to the intense heating of the planet.

The atmospheric pressure on the surface of Venus is 92 times greater than on Earth. Some astronomers believe that volcanic activity on Venus continues today, but no clear evidence of this has been found. Not found yet... It is believed that Venus is a relatively young planet, by astronomical standards, of course. She is approximately only... 500 million years old.

The temperature on Venus has been calculated to be approximately + 477 °C, but scientists believe that Venus is gradually losing its internal high temperature. Observations from automatic space stations have detected thunderstorms in the planet's atmosphere.

The planet got its name in honor of the ancient Roman goddess of love Venus.

Venus has been actively studied using spacecraft. The first spacecraft was the Soviet Venera 1. Then there were the Soviet Vega, the American Mariner, Pioneer Venus 1, Pioneer Venus 2, Magellan, the European Venus Express, and the Japanese Akatsuki. In 1975, the Venera 9 and Venera 10 spacecraft transmitted the first photographs of the surface of Venus to Earth, but conditions on the surface of Venus are such that none of the spacecraft worked on the planet for more than two hours. But research on Venus continues.

Earth

Our Earth is the largest and densest of the inner planets in the solar system. Among the terrestrial planets, Earth is unique due to its hydrosphere ( water shell). The Earth's atmosphere differs from the atmospheres of other planets in that it contains free oxygen. Earth has one natural satellite- The Moon, the only large satellite of the terrestrial planets of the Solar System.

But we will have a more detailed conversation about planet Earth in a separate article. Therefore, we will continue the story about the planets of the solar system.

Mars

This planet is smaller than Earth and Venus, its mass is 0.64185·10 24 kg, which is 10.7% of the Earth's mass. Mars is also called " red planet" - due to iron oxide on its surface. Its rarefied atmosphere consists mainly of carbon dioxide (95.32%, the rest is nitrogen, argon, oxygen, carbon monoxide, water vapor, nitrogen oxide), and the pressure on the surface is 160 times less than on Earth. Impact craters like those on the Moon, as well as volcanoes, valleys, deserts and polar ice caps like those on Earth - all this makes it possible to classify Mars as a terrestrial planet.

The planet got its name in honor of Mars, the ancient Roman god of war (which corresponds to the ancient Greek Ares). Mars has two natural, relatively small satellites - Phobos and Deimos (translated from ancient Greek - “fear” and “horror” - that was the name of the two sons of Ares, who accompanied him in battle).

Mars was studied by the USSR, the USA and the European Space Agency (ESA). The USSR/Russia, USA, ESA and Japan sent an Automatic Interplanetary Station (AIS) to Mars to study it; there were several programs to study this planet: “Mars”, “Phobos”, “Mariner”, “Viking”, “Mars Global Surveyor” and others.

It has been established that due to low pressure water cannot exist in a liquid state on the surface of Mars, but scientists suggest that in the past conditions on the planet were different, so they do not exclude the presence of primitive life on the planet. In 2008, water in the form of ice was discovered on Mars by NASA's Phoenix spacecraft. The surface of Mars is explored by rovers. The geological data they collected suggests that most of the surface of Mars was once covered with water. Something like geysers were even discovered on Mars - sources hot water and a couple.

Mars can be seen from Earth naked eye.

The minimum distance from Mars to the Earth is 55.76 million km (when the Earth is exactly between the Sun and Mars), the maximum is about 401 million km (when the Sun is exactly between the Earth and Mars).

The average temperature on Mars is −50 °C. The climate, like on Earth, is seasonal.

Asteroid belt

Between Mars and Jupiter there is a belt of asteroids - small bodies of the solar system. Scientists suggest that these are remnants of the formation of the Solar System, which were unable to unite into a large body due to gravitational disturbances of Jupiter. The sizes of asteroids vary: from several meters to hundreds of kilometers.

Outer Solar System

In the outer region of the Solar System there are gas giants ( Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune ) and their companions. The orbits of many short-period comets are also located here. Because of their greater distance from the Sun, and therefore much lower temperature, the solid objects in this region contain ices of water, ammonia and methane. In the photo you can compare their sizes (from left to right: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune).

Jupiter

This is a huge planet with a mass of 318 Earth masses, which is 2.5 times more massive than all other planets combined, and its equatorial radius is 71,492 ± 4 km. It consists mainly of hydrogen and helium. Jupiter is the most powerful (after the Sun) radio source in the Solar System. The average distance between Jupiter and the Sun is 778.57 million km. The presence of life on Jupiter seems unlikely due to the low concentration of water in the atmosphere, the absence of a solid surface, etc. Although scientists do not exclude the possibility of the existence of water-hydrocarbon life on Jupiter in the form of some unidentified organisms.

Jupiter has been known to people since ancient times, which is reflected in mythology different countries, and its name comes from the ancient Roman thunder god Jupiter.

There are 67 known moons of Jupiter, the largest of which were discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610.

Jupiter is explored using ground-based and orbital telescopes; Since the 1970s, 8 interplanetary NASA probes have been sent to the planet: Pioneers, Voyagers, Galileo and others. Powerful storms, lightning, and aurorae, many times greater than those on Earth, have been observed on the planet.

Saturn

A planet known for its ring system. In reality, these romantic rings are just flat, concentric formations of ice and dust that lie in Saturn's equatorial plane. Saturn has a structure of atmosphere and magnetosphere somewhat similar to Jupiter, but is much smaller: 60% of the mass of Jupiter (5.6846 10 26 kg). Equatorial radius - 60,268 ± 4 km.

The planet received its name in honor of the Roman god of agriculture, Saturn, so its symbol is a sickle.

The main component of Saturn is hydrogen with admixtures of helium and traces of water, methane, ammonia and heavy elements.

Saturn has 62 satellites. Of these, the largest is Titan. It is interesting because it is larger than the planet Mercury and has the only dense atmosphere among the satellites of the Solar System.

Observations of Saturn have been going on for a long time: Galileo Galilei noted in 1610 that Saturn has “two companions” (satellites). And Huygens in 1659, using a more powerful telescope, saw the rings of Saturn and discovered its largest satellite, Titan. Then, gradually, astronomers discovered other satellites of the planet.

The modern study of Saturn began in 1979, when the US automatic interplanetary station Pioneer 11 flew near Saturn and then finally approached it. Then the American spacecraft Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, as well as Cassini-Huygens, followed to Saturn, which, after 7 years of flight, reached the Saturn system on July 1, 2004 and entered orbit around the planet. The main objectives were to study the structure and dynamics of the rings and satellites, as well as to study the dynamics of the atmosphere and magnetosphere of Saturn and a detailed study largest satellite planets - Titan. In 2009, a joint American-European project between NASA and ESA appeared to launch the Titan Saturn System Mission to study Saturn and its satellites Titan and Enceladus. During it, the station will fly to the Saturn system for 7-8 years, and then become a satellite of Titan for two years. It will also launch a probe balloon into Titan's atmosphere and a landing module.

The lightest of the outer planets is 14 Earth masses (8.6832·10 25 kg). Uranus was discovered in 1781 by the English astronomer William Herschel using a telescope and named after greek god sky of Uranus. It turns out that Uranus is visible in the sky with the naked eye, but those who saw it before did not realize that it was a planet, because the light from it was very dim, and the movement was very slow.

Uranus, as well as Neptune, which is similar to it, are classified as “ ice giants", since there are many modifications of ice in their depths.

The atmosphere of Uranus is mainly hydrogen and helium, but traces of methane and solid ammonia are also present. Its atmosphere is the coldest (−224 °C).

Uranus also has a ring system, a magnetosphere, and 27 moons. The axis of rotation of Uranus lies, as it were, “on its side” relative to the plane of rotation of this planet around the Sun. As a result, the planet turns towards the Sun alternately north pole, then the southern, then the equator, then the middle latitudes.

In 1986, the American spacecraft Voyager 2 transmitted close-range images of Uranus to Earth. The images do not show images of such storms as on Jupiter, but, according to observations from Earth, seasonal changes are occurring there, and weather activity has been noticed.

Neptune

Neptune is smaller than Uranus (equatorial radius 24,764 ± 15 km), but its mass is 1.0243·10 26 kg greater than the mass of Uranus and is 17 Earth masses.

This is the most distant planet Solar system. Its name is associated with the name of Neptune, the Roman god of the seas, so the astronomical symbol is Neptune's trident.

Neptune is the first planet discovered through mathematical calculations rather than observations (Neptune is not visible to the naked eye), and this happened in 1846. This was done by a French mathematician who studied celestial mechanics and worked most of his life at the Paris Observatory - Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier.

Although Galileo Galilei observed Neptune in 1612 and 1613, he mistook the planet for a fixed star in conjunction with Jupiter in the night sky. Therefore, the discovery of Neptune is not attributed to Galileo.

Soon its satellite Triton was discovered, but the remaining 12 satellites of the planet were discovered in the 20th century.

Neptune, like Saturn and Pluto, has a ring system.

Neptune's atmosphere, like that of Jupiter and Saturn, is composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, with traces of hydrocarbons and possibly nitrogen, but contains a lot of ice. The core of Neptune, like Uranus, consists mainly of ice and rocks. The planet seems of blue color– this is due to traces of methane in the outer layers of the atmosphere.

Neptune's atmosphere has the strongest winds among the planets in the solar system.

Neptune has only been visited by one spacecraft, Voyager 2, which flew close to the planet on August 25, 1989.

This planet, like all the others, holds many mysteries. For example, for unknown reasons, the planet’s thermosphere has an abnormally high temperature. But it is too far from the Sun for it to heat up the thermosphere with ultraviolet radiation. Here's a problem for you, future astronomers. And the Universe sets a lot of such tasks, enough for everyone...

The weather on Neptune is characterized by strong storms, winds reaching almost supersonic speeds (about 600 m/s).

Other bodies of the Solar System

This comets- small bodies of the Solar System, usually only a few kilometers in size, consisting mainly of volatile substances(ice), centaurs- icy comet-like objects, trans-Neptunian objects, located in space beyond Neptune, Kuiper belt- fragments similar to the asteroid belt, but consisting mainly of ice, scattered disk…

There is no exact answer yet to the question of where exactly the solar system ends and interstellar space begins...

More from school course I remember from astronomy that the diameter of the planet Mars is almost two times smaller than the diameter of the planet Earth. And if we compare the volumes of Mars and our planet, the difference in favor of the Earth will be even greater.

I have a good visual memory, so, I remember from school (they were given pictures of planets to look at) that the radius of the Earth is almost 2 times greater than the radius of Mars, therefore the answer is: planet Earth is larger.

Everyone at school had geography. We really enjoyed this subject, especially when the topics were extraterrestrial. Now scientists are looking for life on this mysterious red planet, the possibility of life for humans, they are looking for water and microorganisms. Mars has always attracted scientists with its mystery!

From reference materials We know that the average diameter of the Earth is approximately 12,742 km, and the circumference of our planet is 40,000 km. Huge sizes. So, for comparison, the average linear diameter of the planet Mars is 6,800 km, 0.53 of the diameter of our planet Earth. So it is obvious that the Earth is larger than Mars. Interesting fact!

It's a pity that not all schools teach astronomy! But she was at our school!

Mars is a small planet compared to the Earth, it makes up a little more than ten percent of the Earth's mass. In terms of distance from the Sun, Mars is the fourth planet, and our planet Earth is the third.

The temperature on Mars can be minus 153 degrees, and in the summer plus 20 at noon. Almost the entire atmosphere of the planet Mars consists of carbon dioxide.

If we talk about the sizes of the terrestrial planets, then Mars will be smaller than the Earth, its size is 0.53 of the size of the Earth. The average diameter of the Earth is 12,742 km, and the average diameter of Mars is 6,720 km.



Here are the characteristics of such planets of the solar system as planet Earth and planet Mars. Everything is described very well and in detail in the table. There is such a graph as the surface area of ​​these planets, from here we can say with accuracy that the area of ​​planet Earth will be more area planet Mars.





Opening up my dusty old encyclopedia, this is what I will say: The Earth has a diameter of 12,740 km, and Mars, in turn, has a diameter of 6,779 km. Yes, I looked at the encyclopedia out of curiosity, the book is old, and it turned out that the data did not agree with the Internet indicators, namely that according to old calculations the Earth is 2 meters smaller in diameter (12740 km), and according to modern indicators it is 12742 km.

Well, for those who studied astronomy at school, they can safely answer this question: that the Earth is much more planet Mars. According to all visual measurements, the planet Mars has a diameter of 6,720 kilometers, but the diameter of our planet Earth is almost twice as large and has a diameter of 12,742 kilometers. From this we can draw the correct conclusion.

Mars is significantly smaller than Earth, but both planets have the same amount of land mass. Mars has a diameter of 6792 kilometers = 4220 miles at the equator. The Earth has a diameter of 12,756.32 kilometers = 7926 miles at the equator.

Mars is about half the size of Earth.

The diameter of Mars is about 53% of Earth, and its surface area is close to 38% of Earth.

The Red Planet, as Mars is called, haunts not only scientists, but also filmmakers; the plot of many (Hollywood) films is connected with this planet.

The diameter of the fourth planet (in terms of distance from the sun) is - 6,779 kilometers.

The Earth (the third planet from the sun), being the fifth largest among all the planets in the solar system, has a diameter of - 12,742 kilometers.

Those. in diameter Earth almost doubled more than Mars.

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 earlier people turned to celestial bodies only as higher beings capable of influencing their lives with their miraculous properties, now these views are much more pragmatic.

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 which 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 the planet, clouds of dust cover the sky, blocking 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 - at the foot of the largest volcanic mountain in the solar system - Olympus - huge glaciers of ordinary water have been found. Their thickness reaches one hundred meters, the total area is several thousand kilometers. In addition, formations similar to dried up 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 space stations were sent to Mars, but also rovers were launched, thanks to which it became possible to obtain soil samples of the red planet. Now we have accurate data on the chemical composition of the atmosphere and surface of the planet, on the nature of its seasons, and 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 of living space, the need for fresh water and food is also increasing, and the political and economic situation is deteriorating in all areas, especially environmentally favorable zones. 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. Whether it is larger or smaller than the Earth is not so important in this case. 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.