SPACE ART #16 MARS CANVAS PRINT

Mars is the fourth planet from the sun. The bright rust colour Mars is known for is due to iron-rich minerals in its regolith — the loose dust and rock (basalt)* covering its surface. Mars is much colder than Earth, in large part due to its greater distance from the sun. Average distance from the sun: 141,633,260 miles (227,936,640 km). By comparison: 1.524 times that of Earth. The average temperature is about minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 60 degrees Celsius). Mars lies farther from the sun than Earth does, so the Red Planet has a longer year — 687 days compared to 365 for our home world. The two planets have similar day lengths, however; it takes about 24 hours and 40 minutes for Mars to complete one rotation around its axis, versus 24 hours for Earth. The carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere of Mars is also about 100 times less dense than Earth's on average, but it is nevertheless thick enough to support weather, clouds and winds. *Basalt is a dark-coloured, fine-grained, igneous rock composed mainly of plagioclase and pyroxene minerals. It most commonly forms as an extrusive rock, such as a lava flow.