Mars is not a bright, bright red, but the iron oxide present in its rocks makes it appear redder than other planets, especially from a distance.
See also: Samples of hidden ocean beneath the surface of Mars
If you look closely at photos of Mars taken by rovers on its surface, you will see that most of the planet is not pure red, but more of a rusty brown or beige hue.
Satellites sent from Earth have taken photos showing rust-colored rocks. A 1976 photo from the Viking spacecraft, the first to land on Mars, shows the planet's soil covered in a layer of rusty orange dust.
The surface of Mars is not the same color everywhere. At the poles, ice caps appear white. These caps contain frozen water, like the ice we find on Earth, but they are also covered by a layer of frozen carbon dioxide — also known as dry ice.
This layer of dry ice can evaporate very quickly when sunlight warms it and then re-form when darkness falls. This process causes the white ice caps to wax and wane with the Martian seasons.
See also: Mars may have a solid inner core like Earth
In fact, Mars' reddish color is due to iron oxide present in the rocks and dust that covers its surface. Mars also emits light in colors that are not visible to the naked eye, but scientists can measure them with special cameras mounted on telescopes.
Light can be thought of not only as a wave, but also as a stream of particles called photons. The amount of energy each photon carries is related to its color. For example, blue and purple photons have more energy than orange and red photons.
Each new type of photo gives scientists more information about the Martian landscape. They hope to use these details to answer questions like how Mars formed, how long it has had active volcanoes, where its atmosphere came from, and whether there was liquid water on its surface.
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Although humans have been observing Mars since ancient times, we still have much to learn about this fascinating neighbor.
Source: livescience
