Javascript must be enabled to use all features of this site and to avoid misfunctions
Moon vs. Mars - Comparison of sizes
HOME
Select category:
Planets
Select category
NEW

Advertising

Cancel

Search in
Close

Moon vs Mars - Comparison

Moon
Mars
Change

Moon

Moon

Diameter (km)3476
Distance to sun (km)363105,021
Equator (km)10921
Temperature-160

The Moon is an astronomical body orbiting Earth as its only natural satellite. It is the fifth-largest satellite in the Solar System, and by far the largest among planetary satellites relative to the size of the planet that it orbits (its primary). The Moon is, after Jupiter's satellite Io, the second-densest satellite in the Solar System among those whose densities are known. The Moon is thought to have formed about 4.51 billion years ago, not long after Earth. The most widely accepted explanation is that the Moon formed from the debris left over after a giant impact between Earth and a hypothetical Mars-sized body called Theia. New research of Moon rocks, although not rejecting the Theia hypothesis, suggests that the Moon may be older than previously thought.The Moon is in synchronous rotation with Earth, and thus always shows the same side to Earth, the near side. Because of libration, slightly more than half (about 59%) of the total lunar surface can be viewed from Earth. The near side is marked by dark volcanic maria that fill the spaces between the bright ancient crustal highlands and the prominent impact craters. After the Sun, the Moon is the second-brightest celestial object regularly visible in Earth's sky. Its surface is actually dark, although compared to the night sky it appears very bright, with a reflectance just slightly higher than that of worn asphalt. Its gravitational influence produces the ocean tides, body tides, and the slight lengthening of the day. The Moon's average orbital distance is 384,402 km (238,856 mi), or 1.



28 light-seconds. This is about thirty times the diameter of Earth. The Moon's apparent size in the sky is almost the same as that of the Sun, since the star is about 400 times the lunar distance and diameter. Therefore, the Moon covers the Sun nearly precisely during a total solar eclipse. This matching of apparent visual size will not continue in the far future because the Moon's distance from Earth is gradually increasing. The Moon was first reached by a human-made object in September 1959, when the Soviet Union's Luna 2, an unmanned spacecraft, was intentionally crashed onto the lunar surface. This accomplishment was followed by the first successful soft landing on the Moon by Luna 9 in 1966. The United States' NASA Apollo program achieved the only manned lunar missions to date, beginning with the first manned orbital mission by Apollo 8 in 1968, and six manned landings between 1969 and 1972, with the first being Apollo 11 in July 1969. These missions returned lunar rocks which have been used to develop a geological understanding of the Moon's origin, internal structure, and the Moon's later history. Since the 1972 Apollo 17 mission, the Moon has been visited only by unmanned spacecraft. Both the Moon's natural prominence in the earthly sky and its regular cycle of phases as seen from Earth have provided cultural references and influences for human societies and cultures since time immemorial. Such cultural influences can be found in language, lunar calendar systems, art, and mythology.

Source: Wikipedia
Change
Mars

Mars

Diameter (km)6792
Distance to sun (km)227940000
Equator (km)21297
Temperature–133

<p>Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System after Mercury. </p>In English, Mars conveys the title of the god of war and is often known as the'Red Planet'. The latter describes the effect of the iron oxide prevalent on Mars' surface, which gives it a reddish look distinctive one of the astronomical bodies visible to the naked eye. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, with surface features reminiscent of the impact craters of the Moon and the valleys, deserts and polar ice caps of Earth. Since the period in addition to the tilt of the axis relative to the ecliptic plane are similar the days and seasons are similar to those of Earth. Mars is the site of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano and highest known mountain and of Valles Marineris, among the largest canyons in the Solar System. The Borealis basin in the northern hemisphere covers 40% of the planet and may be a giant impact attribute. Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are irregularly shaped and small. These can be captured asteroids, similar to 5261 Eureka, a Mars trojan.Mars was explored by unmanned spacecraft. Mariner 4, launched by NASA on November 28, 1964, was the first spacecraft to go to Mars, making its closest approach to the planet on July 15, 1965. Mariner 4 noticed that the weak Martian radiation belt, measured at about 0.1percent that of Earth and captured the first images of another planet from deep space. On July 20, 1976, Viking 1 performed the first successful landing. A soft landing was attained by the Soviet Mars 3 spacecraft in December 1971 but contact was lost with its lander seconds after touchdown. On July 4, 1997, the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft landed on Mars and on July 5 released its rover, Sojourner to operate on Mars.



Pathfinder was followed by the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, which landed on Mars in January 2004 and functioned until March 22, 2010 and June 10, 2018, respectively. The Mars Express orbiter, the first European Space Agency spacecraft to visit Mars, arrived on December 25, 2003 in orbit. On September 24, 2014, the Indian Space Research Organization became the fourth largest space agency to see Mars, when its maiden interplanetary mission, the Mars Orbiter Mission spacecraft, arrived in orbit.There are investigations assessing the past habitability of Mars, in addition to the possibility of extant life. Missions are planned, including Rosalind Franklin rovers and the Perseverance. Liquid water cannot exist on the surface of Mars due to low pressure, which is less than 1% of the atmospheric pressure on Earth, except at the lowest elevations for periods that are short. The two polar ice caps seem to be made of water. The quantity of water ice in the south polar ice cap, if melted, would be enough to pay the planetary surface to a depth of 11 meters (36 ft). In November 2016, NASA reported finding a large amount of underground ice in the Utopia Planitia area. The quantity of water detected was estimated to be equal to the quantity of water in Lake Superior.Mars can easily be seen from Earth with the naked eye, as can its reddish coloring. Its apparent magnitude reaches −2.94, which is surpassed only by Venus, the Moon and the Sun. Optical ground-based telescopes are typically limited to resolving features about 300 km (190 mi) across when Earth and Mars are closest because of Earth's atmosphere.

Source: Wikipedia

More intresting stuff