Seasons on Mars

Let Us Learn About "Seasons on Mars"

Hi Friends Good Afternoon!!! Every one of us know seasons of Earth and today we shall learn about "Seasons on Mars"

The mean distance of Mars to the Sun is about 228 million kilometers. As noted above, the martian orbit is quite eccentric which leads to a difference of nearly 42 million kilometers between the furthest distance from the Sun (called "aphelion") and the closest distance ("perihelion"). As for any body in a gravitationally bound orbit, Mars travels more swiftly in its orbit when it is close to the Sun than when it is distant. As a result the duration of the four martian seasons varies one from another, unlike the case on Earth where each season lasts for just one quarter of the year.

The following table compares the length of the seasons on Mars and Earth:

Seasons Earth Mars

(Northern Hemisphere) ( in days) (in earth days)

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Spring 93 171

Summer 94 199

Fall 89 171

Winter 89 146

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The effect of the axial tilt of Mars can be seen in the following image. The topmost image shows the vernal equinox, or start of spring in the northern hemisphere, when the sun falls directly at the equator. On the left is the summer solstice, when the pole is in sunlight during the entire day. At the bottom is the autumnal equinox, when the sun again falls directly at the equator, and finally on the right is the winter solstice, when the north pole is in continuous darkness.

In our next blog we shall learn about "Water On Mars"

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