This month I decided to write about Mars as it is going to be closer then it has been for many years.

Mars is named after the Roman God of War. One reason for this name was because it looks like a drop of blood in the sky.

Mars most distinct feature is its color. The iron core of the planet is the source of the color. When iron is in a rock it will turn the rock red. So since Mars's core is made of iron we see a red planet. Mars like Earth belongs to a group of planets that are made out of rocks. Also like Earth Mars has the same type of soil and rocks.

Mars is one of the smallest planets. It's just over half of earth's diameter. Pluto and Mercury are the only planets smaller than Mars.

The atmosphere on Mars is very thin. It's mostly composed of carbon dioxide. There are only a few clouds on Mars and they are thin and feathery. These types of clouds do not produce precipitation and the frozen desert never gets any rain, hail, or snow.

As the fourth planet from the sun, Mars is 141 million miles from the Sun. The average temperature is -67° F.

Many NASA scientists believe that there was once water on Mars. There is still some today. At the top and bottom are two white circles. They are polar ice caps. The tiny ice crystals are comprised of water and carbon dioxide.

A German astronomer by the name of Johannes Kepler guessed that there were two moons surrounding Mars. He thought that since Jupiter has four moons and earth has one then mars must have a number of moons between one and four. The names of the two moons are Deimos and Phobos.

This year Mars is traveling with Earth. When this happens, Mars is closer to Earth which makes for great viewing of the red planet.

This is a once in a lifetime event and I hope you can see it!