As it turned out, the canals were simply an optical illusion. However, as telescopes became more powerful, the canals seemingly vanished.
The existence of liquid water led to claims of vegetation and animals. For decades, astronomers believed that canals were present across the surface of Mars, and many hypothesized that these canals were being created by an intelligent civilization. The most notable feature of Schiaparelli’s map was the existence of canals on the surface of Mars. In 1877, astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli produced the first detailed map of Mars using an 8.7 inch telescope. In the mid-1600s, the astronomer Christiaan Huygens became the first to map the surface of Mars, and although the map is highly inaccurate by today’s standards, it was the first map to recognize that Mars had surface features.īy the 1800s, telescopes had advanced enough for astronomers to begin identifying individual surface features of Mars. In 1610, Galileo Galilei became the first human to observe Mars through the eyepiece of a telescope.Unfortunately for Galileo, his telescope was not powerful enough to discern any features of Mars. Given its red color, which can be seen with the naked eye, it is not surprising that various cultures associated Mars with war and death. In fact, the name Mars comes from the Roman god of war. In later cultures, such as the Greeks and Romans, Mars was often believed to be the god of war. Over 5,000 years ago, the Sumerians believed that Mars was the god Nergal, the god of war and plague. The first recorded observations of Mars come from the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia.
Mars is visible to the naked eye without the need for any kind of equipment, and thus its existence has been known since ancient times. Observational History Of Mars An Image of Mars taken by the Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter in June 2003, NASA If it were placed on Earth, the valley would stretch across the entire United States. The Valles Marineris stretches 4,000 kilometres in length and 7 kilometres deep. The Lowlands are also home to all of Mars’ volcanoes, along with the largest canyon in the solar system: the Valles Marineris. The Lowlands are the complete opposite, having very few craters and a smooth surface. Generally, the Highlands are defined as having an abundance of impact craters and older surface features.
The Lowlands stretch across the Northern Hemisphere and make up a third of the Martian surface. The Highlands are located across the Southern Hemisphere of Mars and make up about two-thirds of the entire Martian surface. Geographically, Mars is characterized by two separate regions: the Highlands and the Lowlands. The dirt and dust carried up into the atmosphere by dust storms is what causes Mars to have red skies. Occasionally, these dust storms can become so immense that they cover the entire planet in a single storm. The differences in temperature create high speed winds that whip up dust from the surface. Astronomers also believe that these temperature fluctuations cause dust storms on Mars. During the summer, warmer temperatures turn the dry ice back into carbon monoxide gas and the ice caps retreat. During the winter, the Martian ice caps grow in size as more dry ice condenses to the surface. Frigid temperatures at and near the poles cause carbon monoxide in the atmosphere to condense onto the surface as dry ice. These drastic changes in temperature also have an impact on the Martian climate. This causes Mars to have extreme temperature fluctuations, which can range from around 71.6 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius) to well below minus 148 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 100 degrees Celsius). The lack of a thick atmosphere makes it difficult for heat from the sun to circulate around the planet.
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