你知道嗎？每年11月28日是火星節，這是為了紀念“水手四號”（美國發射到金星、火星和水星附近的不載人航天探測飛船系列被稱作“水手號”）航天飛船的成功發射。1964年11月28日，美國發射了“水手四號”火星探測器，并首次從火星附近發回了第一批人類拍攝的“火星”照片。被稱為“紅星球”的火星真的是紅色的嗎？有科學家對此持有異議，其理由是：火星探測器在拍攝火星照片時使用了特定過濾鏡頭，因而讓火星顯的“紅”了。

Red Planet Day falls on November 28th every year. It commemorates the launch of the Spacecraft Mariner 4 on November 28,1964.

Red Planet Day falls on November 28th every year. It commemorates the launch of the Spacecraft Mariner 4 on November 28,1964. (The 228 day mission of Mariner 4 brought the spacecraft within 6,118 miles of Mars on July 14, 1965. )

The planet Mars is referred to as the "Red Planet" because it appears red in color. Red Planet Day honors our celestial neighbor, the fourth planet in the solar system.

Is Mars truly red in color? Scientists debated this question, even after the Mars Rovers landed and began to explore the planet. Why? Because the lenses used to take photos are tinted.

On Red Planet Day, take a few minutes to look upwards into the sky, and gaze at our neighbor. Hopefully, you will have a cloudless night sky for viewing. You can also recognize this day by reading up about Mars, and viewing pictures of it. There are plenty of pictures online to which you can get an easy access.

   Basic Facts about Mars

Fourth Planet from the Sun
Mars gets it's name from the Greek word "Ares", the God of War
Often visible to the naked eye
Distance from the Sun: average 136,764,000 miles
Rotation around the Sun: 687 days
Rotation period: 1.026 Earth days
Gravity: 1/3 of Earth
Size: 7th largest planet, about 1/10th the mass of Earth
Moons: none
Temperature range(F): -207 to +81 degrees

  supplimentary knowledge

Eight Planets in the Solar System: Mercury水星； Venus金星； Earth； Mars火星； Jupiter木星； Saturn土星； Uranus天王星； Neptune海王星

(adapted from Holidayinsights ) 

Vocabulary:

celestial: 天空的 （celestial bodies: 天體）| lens: 透鏡，鏡片 （通訊員東華大學傅麗莉投稿 英語點津陳蓓編輯）