Science · 6 pages · 12 min
Why Mars looks red
Mars looks red because oxidized iron dust reflects sunlight that is poor in blue.
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From the opening
Mars looks red because fine dust on its surface and in its air is rich in iron oxides, the same family of minerals as rust. Sunlight reflected from that dust is poorer in blue and green, so the planet reaches the eye as a reddish point. The opening covers iron oxide in the surface dust, why the color is reflected light, and what dust storms change.
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Inside
- Iron oxide in the surface dust
- Why the color is reflected light
- What dust storms change
- Why the disk is not one rock
- Where the idea stops applying
- A distinction worth keeping
Sources
- Ferric iron oxides in Martian dust
- Reflectance spectra of the Martian surface