The exploration of Mars

On the surface of Mars noticed two components: a light - yellow, or red, and darker - steel gray, or black, and they do not change their position and shape. The dark side believe the continents, light - the seas. The distribution of land and sea on Mars is very different from their distribution on Earth: the space covered by water, there is much less than us, and barely covers half the surface of Mars there are no large continents and the whole land consists of a number of significant islands, separated from each other by channels, they are crowded at the equator and in the northern hemisphere, southern hemisphere is occupied by water. During one rotation around the axis of Mars' sea experienced a noticeable change in color. Some places it are uncertain: at the same time they are landlocked, in another - the sea, they are considered shoals. Some of the areas liberated from the water, according to observations Pickering (Pickering), quickly painted in green; get the impression that there is an unusually fast growing vegetation. But the most remarkable of the above channels, they are drawn toward the right lines and occupy a quarter of the space world. None of these mysterious formations does not end blindly: they are all interconnected, with the sea and lakes. Sometimes the channel is a continuation, more or less short time invisible, sometimes has the form of a broad diffuse band. Peculiar changes in their channels are split: the latter occurs rapidly - within a few days, sometimes within a few hours. Details of this process are not yet known to us, we see only the place of the former one line, two new series. If we can compare these narrow, long, elongated, right on lace, canals with our terrestrial facilities, before the processes of their razdvaivaniya our imagination stops, we can not make any any satisfactory conception of the nature and meaning of this mysterious phenomenon. In addition to yellow and gray areas, permanently preserving its shape, on Mars quite noticeable white area, located at the poles. They change their stretch depending on the prevailing there seasons. Last, we can determine with great accuracy, since the required data, the position of the equator, axis, and the circulation of Mars known. In the northern hemisphere dominates moderate and short, while in the south - a severe and long winter. Just as we have on Earth, the white polar spots of Mars increases in winter and decrease strongly in the warm season. Mars' north polar boundary is located near the Pole, the South refused to 5,4 °, or 340 miles, 3 - 6 months after the summer solstice (longest day), the South Pole free of ice. Sometimes the snow fields are removed more from the pole and reach the equator, they are fast disappearing under the action of sunlight and, apparently, comes at a time when over the corresponding part of Mars are the clouds and mists. Spectroscopic studies indicate an abundant presence in the atmosphere of Mars water vapor, and the telescope - the existence of clouds and fogs: hence it is natural to conclude that on Mars there are the sea and that the steel-gray portion of the surface corresponds to its waters.