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Why is Mars red?

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We have received correct answers from many of our readers.

The answer is:

Planet Mars has a reddish hue over 3/5 of the planet, which we now know to be caused by red dust and rocks on the surface of the planet.

Because of it's reddish tinge when viewed in our sky, Mars is also known as the "Red Planet"- named after the Roman god of war.

For further information:

The atmosphere of Mars is thin and it supports high velocity seasonal winds which produce dust storms that lead to a lot of surface erosion. At times, such local dust storms grow and merge until essentially the entire surface of the planet is covered by a dust storm. These periods are correlated with times of maximum solar heating of the Martian surface.

The atmosphere has a pressure at the surface that is only 1/200 that of Earth. The primary component of the atmosphere is carbon dioxide (95%), with the remainder mostly nitrogen. Seasonal heating drives strong winds that can reach 100 mph or more, stirring up large dust storms.

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yogesh@justforkidsonly.com

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