mars by conrad storad

[...]... diagram shows the size of Mars (left) compared to Earth (right) Mars is about half the size of Earth Mars is the second-smallest planet in the solar system Only Mercury is smaller Mars is about 4,220 miles (6,794 kilometers) across That is just about half the size of Earth 13 Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun It travels around the Sun just as Earth and other planets do Mars takes 687 Earth days... rotate So a day on Earth is just a little shorter than a day on Mars 16 Scientists think this area on Mars may once have been filled with water Does Mars still have flowing water? Chapter 3 Mars at a Glance Mars is a dry, cold, rocky world It has no rivers or lakes or oceans It has no liquid water at all But scientists know that water flowed on Mars a long time ago What happened to all that water? Finding... –70˚C) Winter temperatures on Mars are much colder! 19 Melted rock once flowed out onto the surface of Mars Mars once had active volcanoes like those on Earth Millions of years ago, Mars was made up of separate layers The surface of Mars was a rocky crust The inner layers were very hot Below the crust was the mantle It was made of puttylike melted rock At the center of Mars was the core A liquid outer... core might have surrounded a solid inner core 20 The inside of Mars is different in modern times All the layers have cooled Mars is solid rock from the outside crust to the center of the planet This diagram shows the inside of Mars Mars no longer has separate layers The inside of the planet is solid rock 21 A blanket of gases surrounds Mars This is the planet’s atmosphere (AT-muhs-feer) On Earth, we... gravity on Mars is much weaker than on Earth That is because the Red Planet is much smaller On Mars, you could jump higher because of weaker gravity You would weigh less too A third grader who weighs 60 pounds (27 kilograms) on Earth would weigh only 23 pounds (10 kg) on Mars 26 Scientists study the surface of Mars to learn more about the planet What kinds of landforms are on the surface of Mars? Chapter... million km) away at the farthest point Mars travels in a path around the Sun 15 All planets rotate (ROH-tayt) as they travel They spin around and around Each planet rotates around its axis (AK-sihs) An axis is an imaginary line that runs through the center of the planet from top to bottom Mars rotates on its axis once every 24 hours and 37 minutes That is one day on Mars Mars takes 24 hours and 37 minutes...In 2003, Mars came closer to Earth than it had in 60,000 years This gave scientists better views of the planet The Red Planet still holds many mysteries Scientists often say Mars is a world of puzzles They are working on solving its puzzles one by one 9 Chapter 2 The Fourth Planet From The Sun Mars and Earth share the same neighborhood in space They are... one place to another Wind on Mars blows the sand and rocks on its surface This wind creates ripples in the sand 22 Mars can be a very windy place The wind can gust up to 80 miles (128 km) per hour Sometimes it whips up dust storms Dust storms on Mars can last a long time They can last for months or even a whole year Some giant dust storms cover the entire planet Left: Mars before a dust storm in 2001... pole of Mars has areas of frozen water and frozen carbon dioxide On Earth, frozen carbon dioxide is called dry ice Mars does have frozen water Patches of ice lie below the surface in some places Mars also has two ice caps One is at the north pole The other is at the planet’s south pole The ice caps are mostly made of frozen carbon dioxide They also contain a mixture of frozen water and dust 18 Mars has... of Mars The surface of Mars has many amazing things to see The northern half of the planet is mostly made of smooth, dark plains But the planet also has towering mountains and deep canyons 27 Bowl-shaped pits called craters cover the southern half of Mars Some are small Some are gigantic Sometimes craters are inside of other craters The craters were made when rocks or ice from space smashed into Mars . Cataloging-in-Publication Data Storad, Conrad J. Mars / by Conrad J. Storad. p. cm. — (Early bird astronomy) Includes index. ISBN 978–0–7613–4152–9 (lib. bdg. : alk. paper) 1. Mars (Planet)—Juvenile. shorter than a day on Mars. 17 Scientists think this area on Mars may once have been filled with water. Does Mars still have flowing water? chapter 3 mars at a Glance Mars is a dry, cold,. the surface of mars. 9 The Red Planet still holds many mysteries. Scientists often say Mars is a world of puzzles. They are working on solving its puzzles one by one. In 2003, Mars came closer