Difference between Earth and Mars

Key Difference: Both Earth and Mars are terrestrial planets that orbit in our Solar System. The Earth is the third planet from the Sun, whereas the Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun.

The Earth and Mars are neighbors of each other. Both are very similar, but they are also different at the same time. Let’s understand both the terms in the following context.

The Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the only planet in the Solar System to have water in its three states of matter: as solid (ice), liquid (sea, rain, etc.) and as gas (clouds). Earth is spherical in shape, and revolves around the sun. Earth is a planet that has life; it is composed of many minerals and is a solid mass that is compacted with rocks. Earth rotates from the west to east around an imaginary line, which passes through the two poles, i.e. the North Pole and the South Pole. These poles are perpendicular to the plane of the equator, which is why this imaginary line is called the axis of Earth’s rotation.

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is often described as the ‘Red planet’, and was named after the Roman God of War. It has an orbital period equal to 687 Earth days and a rotational period equal to 24 hours 37 minutes and 22.6 seconds. Therefore, there are 668 Martian days in a ‘Martian Year’. Mars has a very unusual orbit that can fluctuate from 249 million km to 207 million km. As a result, it also experiences seasons. Mars equatorial diameter is 6792 km, which is half the size of Earth that has an equatorial diameter of 12,756 km. The mass of Mars is 0.6424 x 1024 kg, which is much less than Earth’s 5.976 x 1024 kg.

The similarity between Earth and Mars is that the two planets have similar lengths of days and years. Mars also carries similar seasons like the Earth, with a 25 degree tilt compared to our 23.5 degree tilt while rotating in orbit.

Comparison between Earth and Mars:

 

Earth

Mars

Planet

The Earth is the third planet from the Sun.

The Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun.

Temperatures

Earth has a 180 degrees temperature range from -60 below zero to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mars has a 288 degree temperature range from -220 below zero to 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

Distance from the sun

1.5 x 10 raise to 8 km.

2.279 x 10 raise to 8 km.

Radius

6,371 km

3,390 km

Surface area

10,072,000 km²

144,798,500 km²

Mass

5.972E24 kg

639E21 kg

Moon

Moon

Phobos, Deimos

Axis Tilt

23.5º

25.2º

Seasons

4

4

Gravity

100 per cent

32 per cent of Earth’s Gravity

Made up of

Rock and metal

Rock and Metal

Atmosphere

78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and other gases.

958% carbon dioxide, 0.132% oxygen, and other gases.

Image Courtesy: hudsonvalleygeologist.blogspot.com, slideshare.net

Most Searched in Education and References Most Searched in Arts and Humanities
Most Searched in Environment Most Searched in Society and Culture
Observation, Theory vs Law
MTB vs Road Bike
Glasses vs Contacts
Act vs Rule

Add new comment

Plain text

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.