Mars is a neighbour of the Earth and is situated at a distance of 54.5 million km from the Earth. It completes its rotation about its axis in 24 hours. As its axis is inclined like that of Earth, it exhibits all the seasons as are found on the Earth. Its atmosphere is however, lighter than that of the Earth. Its day temperature at the Equator is 20oC while night temperature is -50oC. It has two satellites: Phobos and Demos.
The spacecraft of U.S.A. known as Viking landed on its surface in the Summer of 1976. The data transmitted to us does not throw any positive light on the problem of the existence life on its surface.
Instruments aboard Viking provided useful information on the Martian atmosphere and surface. Biological experiments did not show signs of life or any of the organic compounds that are abundant on Earth.
The Viking 1 Mars lander kept transmitting photographs and other data from Mars until November 1982, almost 6 1/2 years after its 1976 landing. The Viking 2 lander ceased operating in April 1980.
In 2005, Spirit, a robot sent by NASA to explore Mars, has completed one martian year - that's almost two Earth years - on Mars. Designed to last only 90 martian days, the six-wheeled robot, the size of a golf cart, has done geologic fieldwork, bringing back some 70,000 images and a new understanding of Mars as a potential habitat. See NASA's website.
Asteroids
The space between Mars and Jupiter
is unusually wide. On the basis of mathematical considerations, there should be a planet in this space but no planet could be located inspite of many efforts. The Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta small planets (asteroids) have been discovered.
Locals hypothesize that the legacy of Italian blood and culture in Cologne, colonized by the Romans more than 1500 years ago, makes the people more jovial and lighthearted. Cologne is the largest city on the Rhine.
Kolsch is not only the dialect spoken here but, also the name of their own top-fermented beer. There are more than 4,000 pubs, restaurant's and brewery taverns in Cologne.
Unlike many of the world's large cities, Cologne, with a population of over a million, gets better every day, there are more things to do and see, more new and innovative buildings... more
Travel is an opportunity to learn, whether geography, languages, history or other subjects.
Cologne is situated on the beautiful Rhine River.