Mysteries of Mars and other Anomalous Phenamena

Mars is the 4th planet from the sun, at a mean distance of 141.6 million mi (227.9 million km). It has a diameter of 4,223 mi (6,796 km) and a thin atmosphere composed largely of carbon dioxide. The surface of Mars is highly diverse: the younger, lower terrain of the northern hemisphere is sparsely cratered, whereas the older, higher terrain of the southern hemisphere is often densely cratered and contains numerous channels tens of miles wide and hundreds of miles long. It also has numerous volcanoes-including Olympus Mons (c.370 mi/600 km in diameter and 16 mi/26 km tall), the largest in the solar system-and lava plains. Dust storms, often local but sometimes global in extent, have been observed moving across the Martian surface. Mars has two known satellites, Phobos and Deimos, both discovered by the American astronomer Asaph Hall in 1877; both are very small, irregular ellipsoids. SPACE PROBES that have encountered Mars include Mariners 4, 6, 7, and 9 (1965, 1969, 1971); Vikings 1 and 2 (1976); and several Soviet Mars spacecraft.
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