Mars Myths
Not So
- Mars is red.
- Mars is not red. Made up of iron oxides and silicates, the fourth planet from the sun is more the color of butterscotch pudding.
- Little green men? Martians are green.
- Martians are invisible. This is why we cannot see them. Every one should know this by now.
- 18th century astronomers saw an elaborate canal system in their telescopes.
- In fact, knowing that people could not travel to Mars, gondola singers and astronomers from Venice were engaged in a conspiracy to promote Italian tourism, i.e. in Venice.
- Life exists on Mars.
- Not now; yet simple organisms probably did before cosmic forces stripped the planet’s atmosphere.
Strange Yet True
- While Martian surface temperatures can dip to 193 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, the thermometer there can soar to a balmy minus 12 degrees Fahrenheit in Martian summer.
- Mars has the tallest volcano in the solar system: Olympus Mons which is three times taller than Mt. Everest
and spans an area the size of the state of Arizona. - Powerful rivers once scoured the Martian surface leaving behind evidence such as boulder deposits.
- Mars possess a canyon system that would stretch from California to Chicago, Illinois.
- Scottish people actually eat battered, deep fried Mars candy bars for dessert after a traditional meal of haggis!
Directions: Once you have left Earth’s atmosphere, get a fix on Mars and steady as you go for the next 50 or so million miles. Tip! Leave when Mars’ orbit takes our cousin closest to Earth. Whatever your propulsion system is; bring sandwiches. NASA’s fastest time is about six months.
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