Fourth Planet from the Sun

Mars, the fourth rock from the Sun, is named after the Roman God of War.

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The Red Planet

People often call Mars the "Red Planet," due to its reddish tint from the dust that kicks up into the atmosphere.

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Mars is Twice the Size of Earth's Moon!

Mars is half the diameter of Earth but twice the size of Earth’s moon. In fact, if you took all the land mass of Earth, minus our oceans, that land mass would be about the same size of Mars.

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Mars Has Seasons Too

Like Earth, Mars has seasons, polar ice caps, volcanoes, canyons, deserts, and weather.

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Burr! Mars is Very Cold

The average temperature is -64 degrees F (-53 C). The temperature varies from -199 F (-128 C) during night time to 80 F (27 C) at the equator during midday.

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Mars Has a Thin Atmosphere

Mars’ atmosphere is too thin for liquid water to exist for long on the surface. However, several Mars missions have found evidence of past water on Mars in icy soil and thin clouds.

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Mars: Home to the Largest Volcano in the Solar System!

Mars has the largest volcano in our Solar System, Olympus Mons, 16 miles (26 km) high and 370 miles (600 km) across. That’s about the same size as the state of Arizona!

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The Deepest Canyon in Our Solar System is on Mars!

Mars also has the largest and deepest canyon in our Solar System, Valles Marineris, which extends more than 2,500 miles (4,000 km), and is 3 to 6 miles (5 to 10 km) deep from the canyon floor to top of the plains.

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