你知道吗？每年11月28日是火星节，这是为了纪念“水手四号”（美国发射到金星、火星和水星附近的不载人航天探测飞船系列被称作“水手号”）航天飞船的成功发射。1964年11月28日，美国发射了“水手四号”火星探测器，并首次从火星附近发回了第一批人类拍摄的“火星”照片。被称为“红星球”的火星真的是红色的吗？有科学家对此持有异议，其理由是：火星探测器在拍摄火星照片时使用了特定过滤镜头，因而让火星显的“红”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: 天体）| lens: 透镜，镜片 （通讯员东华大学傅丽莉投稿 英语点津陈蓓编辑）