Mars

/mɑrz/

/mɑz/

Other forms: Marses

Mars, known as the "Red Planet," is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second smallest planet in our solar system. It is named after the mythological figure Mars, the Roman god of war and agriculture.

Mars gets its blood-red color — which also inspired ancient observers to name it after the god of war — from the iron oxide that covers the planet's surface. Despite its fiery hue, Mars is actually a frozen desert, with a very thin, mostly carbon dioxide atmosphere and an average temperature of about −80 degrees Fahrenheit. If it were possible to survive the temperatures and atmosphere on Mars, life there would include years that lasted 687 Earth days, and two tiny moons — Phobos ("Fear") and Deimos ("Panic") — in the night sky!

Definitions of Mars

1. noun

   a small reddish planet that is the 4th from the sun and is periodically visible to the naked eye; minerals rich in iron cover its surface and are responsible for its characteristic color
   “Mars has two satellites”

   synonyms: Red Planet

   example of:

   superior planet

   any of the planets whose orbit lies outside the earth's orbit

   terrestrial planet

   a planet having a compact rocky surface like the Earth's; the four innermost planets in the solar system
2. noun

   (Roman mythology) Roman god of war and agriculture; father of Romulus and Remus; counterpart of Greek Ares
   example of:

   Roman deity

   a deity worshipped by the ancient Romans