Mars
The Red Planet — its rusty dust gives it that orange glow.
Mars looks like a steady orange-red star. Its brightness changes a lot: every 26 months Earth overtakes it and it becomes one of the brightest points in the sky.
Around those times, Mars seems to stop and drift backwards against the stars for a while. It isn't really reversing — we are passing it, like overtaking a slower car.
Facts
- Year
- 687 Earth days
- Size
- about half as wide as Earth
- Moons
- two tiny ones: Phobos and Deimos