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Did you know? (Original Post) MrScorpio Jan 2014 OP
Really? Well, now I know. Thanks. trof Jan 2014 #1
What's surprising about that fact is how warm mars is... Locut0s Jan 2014 #2
Where on Mars? csziggy Jan 2014 #3

Locut0s

(6,154 posts)
2. What's surprising about that fact is how warm mars is...
Fri Jan 3, 2014, 08:54 PM
Jan 2014

Cause -29 isn't all that cold really. Especially for a planet that much further out from the sun. Too bad mars lost most of its atmosphere billions of years ago.

csziggy

(34,136 posts)
3. Where on Mars?
Fri Jan 3, 2014, 11:17 PM
Jan 2014

Cause I can't believe the entire planet is one temperature. And I know for sure that Mars has weather and different parts have different weather.

Was the -29 C in the part of Mars that now is in summer?

OK, apparently that measurement was made by Curiosity which is currently at Gale Crater. Gale Crater can be seen on this map of Mars, at the right of this image, close to the equator:


Some about climate and temperature on Mars:

Temperature

Differing values have been reported for the average temperature on Mars,[15] with a common value being −55 °C (−67 °F).[16] Surface temperatures may reach a high of about 20 °C (68 °F) at noon, at the equator in the summer, and a low of about −153 °C (−243 °F) at the poles.[17] Actual temperature measurements at the Viking landers' site range from −17.2 °C (1.0 °F) to −107 °C (−161 °F). The warmest soil temperature on the Mars surface estimated by the Viking Orbiter was 27 ⁰C (81 ⁰F).[18] The Spirit rover recorded a maximum daytime air temperatures in the shade of 35 ⁰C (95 ⁰F), and regularly recorded temperatures well above 0 ⁰C (32 ⁰F), except in winter.[19]

It has been reported that "On the basis of the nightime air temperature data, every northern spring and early northern summer yet observed were identical to within the level of experimental error (to within ±1 ⁰C)" but that the "daytime data, however, suggest a somewhat different story, with temperatures varying from year-to-year by up to 6 ⁰C in this season.[20] This day-night discrepancy is unexpected and not understood". In southern spring and summer variance is dominated by dust storms, which increase the value of the night low temperature and decrease the daytime peak temperature,[21] resulting in a small (20 °C) decrease in average surface temperature, and a moderate (30 °C) increase in upper atmosphere temperature.[22]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_climate#Temperature


I'm not sure what season it is at Gale Crater right now, despite trying to find that information...
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