Happy New Year, Mars! Red Planet begins its 39th year
With days slightly longer than Earth’s and years nearly twice as long, the Red Planet follows a different calendar.
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft flew past Mars and revealed breathtaking views of Mars’ surface.
Mars has officially begun a new year, giving space enthusiasts a reason to celebrate.
On Wednesday, Sept. 30, at exactly 4:16 a.m. EDT, the Red Planet began a new orbit around the sun, according to the European Space Agency (ESA). This marks the 39th Martian year, a counting system that began in 1955. The next new year won't occur until 2028, on Aug. 17.
There are many differences between time on Mars and Earth. One day on the Red Planet, also known as a "sol," lasts 24 hours and 39 minutes, the space agency explained. There are 688 sols in a Martian year, which is about twice as long as a year on Earth.
This composite image, from NASA Galileo and Mars Global Survey orbiters, of Earth and Mars was created to allow viewers to gain a better understanding of the relative sizes of the two planets. (Credit: NASA/JPL)
The Martian new year begins on the northern equinox, when spring begins in the north, and autumn begins in the south. The ESA noted that, like Earth, Mars also experiences the four seasons, but they are not equal in time due to the planet's elliptical orbit.
"The planet’s axial tilt causes the northern hemisphere to receive more sunlight during the northern summer and the southern hemisphere to receive more sunlight in northern winter," the ESA said. "Winter and summer come when the northern and southern hemispheres tilt away from the sun in turn."
Temperatures on the Red Planet are more extreme than those on Earth. During the summer, temperatures can reach 0 degrees Celsius (32 F) at noon but will later drop to –60 C (-76 F) at night, according to the ESA. The weather becomes even colder in the winter, with temperatures plunging to -110 C (-166 F).
Twelve orbits a day provide NASA Mars Global Surveyor MOC wide angle cameras a global snapshot of weather patterns across the planet. Here, bluish-white water ice clouds hang above the Tharsis volcanoes. (Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS)
Mars also experiences dust storms, primarily in the second half of its year. Experts explained that as the planet swings closer to the sun, the atmosphere heats up, which causes winds to lift small particles from the soil. The particles heat up once they are in the air and then redistribute some of the warmth to the surrounding atmosphere, a process that can "rapidly pump a lot of dust."
An animation created from photos taken 21 seconds apart from NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover on Aug. 30, 2023, showing a dust devil moving along the mountains of Mars. (NASA)
NASA Rovers have also spotted dust devils swirling across the arid landscape, similar to those that occur on Earth.
Mars is one of the easiest planets to spot in the night sky, appearing red or orange and setting itself apart from the countless stars in the sky.
The Red Planet is inhospitable to humans, but it is also the only known planet inhabited entirely by robots, NASA noted. NASA currently has four active missions at Mars gathering data, including the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers, so astronauts can eventually travel to the Martian surface.
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