A closer look at Mars

Lynn Poole announces that on July 1, 1954, Mars will be closer to the earth than in the past 15 years. He then explains the words Mars, March, and Tuesday originated from Mars, the Roman god of war, and the days of the week were the seven wanderers (or planets in Greek) in the sky. He describes the location of Mars and compares its relative size and distance from other planets using a football field model and the length of an imaginary plane flight. Telescopic views of Mars are unclear and photographs are difficult to make; however, polar caps have been seen and their changing size suggests seasons on the planet. The Dutch astronomer Christian Huyghens sketched Mars with continents and oceans, but his view has been disproved. In 1877 Italian astronomer Schiaparelli noted lines, which he called "canali" or canals, on the surface of Mars. So far oxygen has been undetected on the planet, but a life form such as lichen, a fungus and algae combination, might be possible there.