Planets of the Solar System: Earth and Mars

Earth and Mars are perhaps the two most well known and famous planets for a number of reasons. Earth- well, that’s self-explanatory. We live on this planet! It’s the only planet known to host any kind of life in the whole Universe, as of this blog post. Mars is the last terrestrial planet, and the most recognized due to its red hue. It’s popularity also stems from the fact that we are very likely to establish a human presence on it- the first time mankind has ever done so in history. Read on to learn more about each planet in depth!

Earth

Earth is exactly 1 AU away from the Sun- our distance from the Sun is the standard number for an AU! The name ‘Earth’ is derived from the Germanic languages for the word ‘ground’ . In fact, did you know that our planet is the only planet in our Solar System that is not named after a Greek or Roman figure? Our planet’s composure includes the atmosphere, crust, mantle, and core (National Geographic, 2015). The atmosphere is composed of five layers:] the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the thermosphere, and the exosphere, respectively from the surface to outer space . The troposphere is where weather such as rain, snow, and hail occur. The stratosphere, on the other hand, contains the famous ozone layer, which protects us from UV rays. The mesosphere is where one of the coldest temperatures, at about -84º Celsius ( -120º Fahrenheit) on Earth can be observed. The thermosphere is where phenomena, such as the aurora borealis (commonly known as the Northern Lights) and the aurora australis (commonly known as the Southern Lights) occur, as well as the altitude at which the ISS orbits. And last, but not least, the exosphere is the thinnest and last layer before we reach outer space. Going back to the surface though, the crust is the land upon which we live on. Below the crust, is a layer known as mantle, which is essentially composed of magma.! The mantle is often split into two different regions, the “upper mantle” and the “lower mantle”, with very small features distinguishing them. And lastly, we have the core, which is also often separated into subregions, the “outer” core and the “inner” core. A unique feature of the core is that it is entirely composed of nickel and iron. To end Earth’s spotlight, we’re introducing Earth’s only moon, ironically named, the Moon! Earth is the first of the terrestrial planets to have a moon, and our moon has a very influential role in the maintenance of life on Earth. The Moon controls the tides, provides light at night, and moderates our wobbly axis!

Mars

Now, it’s time for us to pay a visit to our neighbor, Mars! Mars was named after the Roman God of war due to its red hue we all know and love! Mars is 1.5 AU away from the Sun. Just as Venus is depicted as the feminine planet of the Solar System, Mars is known as the masculine energy. Mars’ atmosphere varies tremendously to Earth’s, as Mars’ atmosphere has a majority of these gasses within: 95.32% carbon dioxide, 2.7% nitrogen, 1.6% argon, and 0.13% oxygen. Due to the thinness of the atmosphere, water is not able to exist in its liquid form for long periods of time, so instead, we find it below the surface as ice. But, astronomers theorize that water may have existed on Mars, back when it has a stronger atmosphere. Speaking of the atmosphere, did you know that Mars's atmosphere is thinning due to solar wind? This is due to the fact that Mars does not have an electromagnetic field, leaving its atmosphere susceptible to the Sun’s solar wind. Although the atmosphere is thin, Mars has had its fair share of large dust storms and even snow! Dust storms, especially, can be very dangerous to equipment sent to Mars, and thus humans will have to find a way around this if they ever want to create a human presence here. Mars, unlike Earth, has two moons, Phobos and Deimos,which astronomers theorize may actually be asteroids that the planet had captured from the Asteroid Belt.

Earth and Mars are both planets that humans have explored the most, compared to other planets of the Solar System, and will continue to do so in the future. These two planets also happen to be the most researched, so we encourage you to learn more by surfing the internet!

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Thank you for reaching the end! Make sure to like, share, and comment on this blog. Also, follow us @midnight___eclipse to learn more information! We featured Earth and Mars in an Instagram series we call ‘CBSS’, which stands for Celestial Bodies of the Solar System! To learn about planets in general, make sure to check out our planets blog and check out our previous blog about Mercury and Venus! We also update our followers on space news and Instagram series such as CBSS and Constellation and Star. We hope to see you next time, and till then, keep gazing skywards!

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