Mars: The Haunting Red Planet
What you'll learn
- Mars has long haunted mankind with its red glow and tantalizing proximity. Humans have known about Mars since before recorded history and almost all cultures named it after their gods of war because of its blood red color. Mars boasts a volcano so large that it peeks into space and a canyon so long that it looks like a scar on the planet even from Earth. Oh yea… and we’ll talk about Martians.
- How did we discover Mars and why did most civilization name it after their god's of war?
- How to observe Mars from Earth
- The red planet's position in the solar system as compared to the Earth and the Sun
- Myths about life on Mars and misunderstanding about Martian canals
- Mars in popular culture - Martian attacks, movies, science fiction novels
- Exploring Mars with a telescope, from orbit and on it's surface
- History of missions to Mars and current mission statuses
- When will we go to Mars?
- How to land on Mars
- Martian weather, including sand storms, dust devils, temperature and seasons
- Similarities and differences between Earth and Mars
- Martian occultations
- Martian moons: Phobos and Deimos
- The concept of escape velocity
- Martian meteorites found on Earth
- Test Questions and Activities related to Mars
Requirements
- None
Description
Mars has long haunted mankind with its red glow and tantalizing proximity. Humans have known about Mars since before recorded history and almost all cultures named it after their gods of war because of its blood red color. Mars boasts a volcano so large that it peeks into space and a canyon so long that it looks like a scar on the planet even from Earth. Oh yea… and we’ll talk about Martians.
This Course includes the following great BONUS LESSONS:
What on Earth is Astronomy?
Mini-Lesson: Eclipses
Mini-Lesson: Meteor Showers
Mini-Lesson: Aurora
Mars: The Haunting Red Planet
1. Objective
2. Warm-up activity
3. Discovery and name origins
4. Observing Mars from Earth
5. Position in the Solar System as compared to the Sun and the Earth
6. Myths about life and canals on Mars
7. Mars’ surface features, including coloring, ice caps, etches, craters, volcanoes and canyons
8. Mars in popular culture, including Martians, movies and science-fiction novels
9. Exploring Mars with a telescope, from orbit and from the surface
10. History of missions to Mars and a current mission status
11. Discussion of humans visiting Mars
12. Mars landing methods, including airbag crash landings
13. Cameras on Mars
14. Martian weather, including sandstorms, dust devils, temperatures and seasons
15. Similarities and differences between Mars and Earth
16. Introduction to occultations
17. Martian moons Phobos and Deimos
18. Introduction to the concept of escape velocity
19. Martian meteorites on Earth
20. Colonization of Mars
21. Test questions
22. Cross-curricular activities
Who this course is for:
- People who like Astronomy
Instructor
- 4.5 Instructor Rating
- 164 Reviews
- 1,388 Students
- 24 Courses
Tony is the creator of the popular Home School Astronomy curriculum. He has a Master’s Degree in Education and has written astronomy curriculum for NASA and the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC where he helps run the planetarium.
He teaches at Camden County College and has presented astronomy material in hundreds of venues across the United States.