Swift wrote about these moons 151 years before they were discovered. The author of the book was Jonathan Swift.
Information about these two moons was written in an ancient book known as Gulliver’s Travels’. Phobos and Deimos are Greek words that mean “fear” and “flight” respectively. According to the Greeks, these are the two sons of Ares, the Greek god of war. Mars has two small moons called Phobos and Deimos that are irregularly shaped. Recently, scientists have gathered evidence to suggest that Olympus Mons is still an active volcano. Olympus Mons is believed to have been formed billions of years ago. The height of Olympus is approximately three times the height of Mount Everest, the highest mountain found on planet Earth. It is a 600 kilometers wide shield volcano. The highest mountain in the Solar System, Olympus Mons, stands 21 kilometers high. Olympus Mons, the Highest Peak in the Entire Solar System, is in Mars Additionally, since Mars has a very thin atmosphere, it cannot preserve the little heat which it receives from the sun. The reason for these low temperatures is that Mars is very far from the sun. On the other hand, temperatures at the poles during winter can get as low as -153☌. This difference in size is attributed to the fact that a large part of the Earth's surface is occupied by water.Īt the equator, the temperatures may get up to a maximum of 20☌ and drop down to around -73 ☌. However, the landmass of Mars and Earth are nearly equal. Usually, Mars looks relatively smaller in size compared to Earth. It has a diameter of 6,794 kilometers and lies about 227,940,000 kilometers away from the sun. Mars is 227.9 Million Kilometers from the Sun Other ancient cultures like the Chinese astronomers called Mars “the fire star” while the Egyptian priests called it “Her Desher” which meant “the red one.” Scientifically, the red color is derived from the large amounts of iron oxide, a mineral found in the soils and rocks on the surface of Mars. On the other hand, the Greeks called the planet “Ares.” Both the Greeks and the Romans associated the planet with war since its color resembles that of blood. It was named “the Red Planet” by the Romans. The names given to Mars revolved around its physical appearance. Mars Possesses Varied Names As Accorded To It By Different Cultures Below are some interesting facts about Mars 1. Explorations of the planet are ongoing to find out whether it can support human life as the Earth does. Mars is cold, dusty, and possesses a thin atmosphere. It is the 2nd smallest planet and the fourth in order of distance from the sun. Mars is a planet found in the Solar System.