Mars is a solid terrestrial planet of small diameter (only 7,000 km), which is given a red color by an abundance of iron. It was named after the ancient Roman god of war. This cosmic body is similar to the Earth in terms of changing seasons. The atmosphere consists mainly of nitrogen, hydrogen, neon, oxygen and argon. The main attraction is the extinct volcano Olympus, which is 6,000 km wide and almost 27 km high. In addition to a weak magnetic field, there is another feature: there are bacteria on Mars, the result of their vital activity is immediately decomposing methane.
These conclusions were made after the discovery of large area clots of this gas. The temperature on the planet is from +20 to -153 degrees. Even frozen air and ice is there. And the day is similar to the earth, only more by 50 minutes. This planet has always been the subject of controversy and discussion. Scientists tried to find out how many satellites Mars has, whether there is life, whether there are bacteria that can be transferred there so that they exist in those conditions, whether there has ever been a highercivilization. In recent centuries, there have been a lot of not always explainable discoveries, but there will still be plenty of new interesting facts in history.
Does Mars have moons
This planet has 2 moons that have been known since 1829. Until that time, many astronomers wondered how many moons Mars had. In 1610, Johannes Kepler suggested that there were two. According to his theory, the number of such increases exponentially as the planets move away from the Sun.
Later, the writer Jonathan Swift in one of the chapters of Gulliver's Travels wrote about the presence of two "moons". After it became known how many satellites Mars has, on one of them, on Deimos, a crater was named after Swift. He is not the only person who suggested the existence of such: Voltaire went down in history not only as a talented writer, but also as the "owner" of the crater of the same name on Deimos. By the way, these two recesses are located close to each other.
What are they named and why
The largest space object orbiting the "red planet" is Phobos. His name, meaning "fear", is also taken from mythology. This is the son of Mars and Venus, therefore they could not call him anything else. Its shape is asymmetrical, not at all the same as most satellites.
This planetesimal (large pebble) has only one "attraction" on its surface - it is the Stickney crater, which was named after the wife of Asaph Hall, the discoverer of this object. Deimos - satellite of Mars No. 2 - much smallerhis "neighbour". In addition to incomprehensible continuous furrows, this shapeless stone has Swift and Voltaire craters.
What is the trajectory of Phobos and Deimos
They differ in their orbits. Phobos manages to go around the planet 2 times a day, moving closer to it. There is an assumption that he is in danger: perhaps in a few millennia, under the influence of gravity, he will collapse to Mars and break. Scientists tried to find out its mass, but according to the calculations it turned out that it was very small. But how is this possible? There was a hypothesis that there is a void inside it. Deimos, on the contrary, can someday "run away" from the planet, because it is gradually moving away from it. This is also due to their size: Deimos has a diameter of 13 km, and Phobos is about 10 kilometers larger.
How did they come about
The natural satellites of Mars are mainly composed of regolith (rock fragments) and ice, the composition of which is not the same as that of the "red star". Their origin still does not have a specific official version. There is a hypothesis that there was one asteroid that broke into two blocks. It is said that Mars pulled them towards itself from the side of Jupiter. They are younger than the planet itself.
Phobos, in connection with the assumption of emptiness inside, has gained a legend that he is not a natural body at all. This is a spaceship created by a higher mind. To check this, you need a lot of time, money and effort. It is necessary to investigate its soil, depth and exact composition.
Now you know how many satellites Mars has and what they are approximatelyrepresent.
