In the fall of 1659, Christiaan Huygens observed the opposition of Mars, drawing what he saw. The result was the first drawings of the recognizable surface features of the Red Planet – an achievement that wouldn't have been possible without the advances in telescope manufacturing that Huygens himself had undertaken.

The first thing most people think of when they consider Mars is its deep red color. The Romans associated the planet with their god of war because it reminded them of blood while the Egyptians called it "Her Desher," meaning "the red one." The planet ...

Mars has captivated scientists and the public alike for centuries. One of the biggest reasons is the planet’s reddish hue, earning the fourth rock from the sun one of its most popular nicknames — the “Red Planet.” But what exactly gives the planet ...

Red Planet Day reminds us how a single spacecraft, Mariner 4, transformed humanity's understanding of Mars and opened a new era of planetary exploration.

A chance discovery by a NASA rover on Mars shows that the red planet has a form of lightning, which researchers had suspected for decades but never seen.

James is a published author with multiple pop-history and science books to his name. He specializes in history, space, strange science, and anything out of the ordinary.View full profile James is a published author with multiple pop-history and science ...

Mars' distinctive red color comes from the mineral ferrihydrite, which only forms in the presence of cool water, a new study claims. Ferrihydrite also forms at a lower temperature than other minerals that make up the aptly-named red planet’s surface ...

The dawn of the 20th century brought exciting advancements, including the automobile, mechanical flight and wireless messaging that could cross oceans. That led to an optimism about the future best summed up by Thomas Edison, who believed in the next 100 ...

In the decades that astronomers have been studying Mars, we’ve learned that its distinct color comes from rusted iron minerals in the dust that covers the planet. At some point in the Red Planet’s 4.5 to 4.6 billion year history, the iron bound up in ...

The researchers' findings were based on seismic readings from NASA’s InSight lander on Mars. Scientists were able to identify 8 Martian quakes with strong enough seismic activity that allowed them to identify fragments of impacts from 4.5 billion years ago.