Mars

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References & Edit History Related Topics

Images, Videos & Interactives

seasons of Mars

The interactive title page shows the planet Mars.

Mars: last day of spring

Mars polar water-ice cap

dust devil on Mars

ground frost on Mars

For Students

Mars

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Solar system illustration. (Sun; planets)

A Model of the Cosmos

Mars rover. Mars Pathfinder. NASA. Sojourner.

10 Important Dates in Mars History

Remarkable new details of Pluto's largest moon Charon are revealed in this image from New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), taken late on July 13, 2015 from a distance of 289,000 miles

Why Is Pluto No Longer a Planet?

Galaxy clusters like Abell 2744 can act as a natural cosmic lens, magnifying light from more distant, background objects through gravity. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope may be able to detect light from the first stars in the universe if they are gravitationally lensed by such clusters. (astronomy, space exploration, galaxies)

How Fast Is the Universe Expanding?

Polar bear leaping among ice floes at Spitsbergen, Svalbard archipelago, Norway, the Arctic. Sea ice climate change mammal jump global warming

All 81 References in Fall Out Boy’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” Explained

Discover

Dancers at a Cinco de Mayo festival at the Mission District, San Francisco, California. (Photo dated 2019.) holidays

Is Cinco de Mayo Mexico's Independence Day?

New York NY/ USA- November 23, 2018 Hordes of shoppers throng the Macy's Herald Square flagship store in New York looking for bargains on the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday.

Why Is It Called Black Friday?

Paul Revere. "The bloody massacre perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th 1770 by a party of the 29th Regt.," engraved by Paul Revere. Boston Massacre.

There’s a Riot Goin’ On: Riots in U.S. History (Part One)

Close up of praying mantis walking on stone ground against a blurred background in Japan

6 Animals That Eat Their Mates

Lake Mead (the impounded Colorado River) at the Hoover Dam. The light-coloured band of rock above the shoreline shows the decrease in water level in the first few years of the 21st century.

6 Lakes That Are Drying Up

Scolex (head) of the tapeworm Taenia solium. The hooks of the scolex enable the tapeworm to attach to the intestinal wall.

Uninvited Guests: The 7 Worst Parasitic Worms

Time zone map with standard time zones and International Date Line

Why Are Some Time Zones 30 Minutes Off Instead of an Hour?

Mars: Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Jun 11, 2025

News •

Mars volcano twice as big as Earth's tallest one seen poking through clouds in first-of-its-kind image • June 8, 2025, 3:22 AM ET (CBS)

Video What it would mean for NASA to lose Musk's SpaceX Dragon spacecraft • June 7, 2025, 7:27 AM ET (ABC News (U.S.))

European Mars orbiter spies crumbling crater 'soaked in layers of Martian history' (photo) • June 6, 2025, 4:34 AM ET (Space)

Long, dark 'streaks' spotted on Mars aren't what scientists thought • June 4, 2025, 10:45 AM ET (Live Science)

Solar 'cannonballs' may have stripped Mars of its water, long-awaited study reveals • June 4, 2025, 3:24 AM ET (Live Science)

Photos and Videos

seasons of Mars

Mars: last day of spring

Mars polar water-ice cap

dust devil on Mars

ground frost on Mars

south polar region of Mars

sand dunes on Mars

topographic map of Mars

simulated flight over Mars's surfaceA Simulated

Mars's moons explained

Mars exploration: Opportunity and Curiosity rovers

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valley: Channels and valleys on Mars

Quiz

Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.

All About Astronomy

This artist's concept illustrates Kepler-16b, the first planet known to definitively orbit two stars -- what's called a circumbinary planet. The planet, which can be seen in the foreground, was discovered by NASA's Kepler mission. The two orbiting stars r

Extrasolar Planets

M101 (NGC 5457, The Pinwheel Galaxy). Hubble Space Telescope image of face-on spiral galaxy Messier 101 (M101). Largest most detailed photo of a spiral galaxy that has ever been released from Hubble. Created from 1994-2003

Everything in Space in a 25-Minute Quiz

Buzz Aldrin. Apollo 11. Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin Aldrin, photographed July 20, 1969, during the first manned mission to the Moon's surface. Reflected in Aldrin's faceplate is the Lunar Module and astronaut Neil Armstrong, who took the picture.

Can You Match The Moon To Its Planet? Quiz

27 True-or-False Questions from Britannica’s Most Difficult Science Quizzes

1 July 2002: The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite reveals a massive solar eruption more than 30 times the Earth's diameter. The eruption formed when a loop of a magnetic field over the surface of the Sun trapped hot gas.

Brightest Star in the Solar System

The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet

Space Odyssey

Buzz Aldrin. Apollo 11. Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin Aldrin, photographed July 20, 1969, during the first manned mission to the Moon's surface. Reflected in Aldrin's faceplate is the Lunar Module and astronaut Neil Armstrong, who took the picture.

Can You Match The Moon To Its Planet? Quiz

View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).

Astronomy and Space Quiz

View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).

Astronomy and Space Quiz

Saturn. Saturn and its rings. Second largest planet of the solar system. Space Art

Planets and the Earth’s Moon

List

Mars rover. Mars Pathfinder. NASA. Sojourner.

10 Important Dates in Mars History

Demystified

Remarkable new details of Pluto's largest moon Charon are revealed in this image from New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), taken late on July 13, 2015 from a distance of 289,000 miles

Why Is Pluto No Longer a Planet?