The fourth planet from the sun and the outermost of the terrestrial planets, Mars has long been a popular spot for missions and imagination. Phil walks you through the planet's topography, core, and features. We'll take a look back to Mars's past and makes predictions for its future, including the possibilities for human life.

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Table of Contents
Mars is Colder and Smaller Than Earth 0:56
Polar Ice Caps 3:29
Rusty & Dusty 1:16
Huge Volcanoes 2:32
Mars’s Past Geography 6:33

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PHOTO/VIDEO SOURCES
Planets en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_System#/media/File:Planets2013.jpg [credit: Wikimedia Commons]
Terrestrial Planets en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus#mediaviewer/File:Terrestrial_Planets_Size_Comp_True_Color.png [credit: Wikimedia Commons]
Curiosity’s view of martian soil en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martian_soil#/media/File:PIA17944-MarsCuriosityRover-AfterCrossingDingoGapSanddune-20140209.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS]
Mars Topography www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA02820 [credit: NASA/JPL]
Tharsis upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Tharsis_-_Valles_Marineris_MOLA_shaded_colorized_zoom_32.jpg/1280px-Tharsis_-_Valles_Marineris_MOLA_shaded_colorized_zoom_32.jpg [credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Arizona State University]
Olympus Mons upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Olympus_Mons_alt.jpg [credit: NASA]
Valles Marineris en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valles_Marineris#/media/File:Mars_Valles_Marineris.jpeg [credit: NASA/USGS]
Cappuccino swirls at Mars south pole www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2015/02/cappuccino_swirls_at_mars_south_pole/15243840-1-eng-GB/Cappuccino_swirls_at_Mars_south_pole.jpg [credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin / Bill Dunford]
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image 1 static.uahirise.org/images/2015/details/cut/ESP_039148_1980.jpg [credit: NASA]
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image 2 photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/figures/PIA19127_fig1.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL]
Dunes, image 1 mars.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/20090317a/ESP_011909_1320.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona]
Dunes, image 2 www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/pia17981.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona]
Serpent Dust Devil www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/multimedia/pia15116.html [credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona]
Tattooed Mars www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1500.html [credit: NASA, HiRISE, MRO, LPL (U. Arizona)]
Avalanche www.uahirise.org/ESP_016228_2650 [credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona]
Deimos en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moons_of_Mars#/media/File:Deimos-MRO.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona]
Phobos en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moons_of_Mars#/media/File:Phobos_colour_2008.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona]
Mars' Moon Phobos Eclipses the Sun, as Seen by Curiosity www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyZoD7BRTtg [credit: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory]
Material Excavated by a Fresh Impact and Identified as Water Ice www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA12220 [credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona]
Crater walls www.nasa.gov/externalflash/mgs-20061206/hi-resjpgs/1.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems]
Sedimentary deposit mars.nasa.gov/msl/images/mars-curiosity-rover-mastcam-sedimentary-deposit-lakebed-rocks-pia19074-full.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS]
Curiosity rover photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA16764.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS]
Astronaut on Mars www.nasa.gov/images/content/114626main_image_feature_326_ys_full.jpg [credit: NASA]
Skylight static.uahirise.org/images/2011/details/cut/ESP_019351_1795_a.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona]
Life on mars www.nasa.gov/images/content/107427main_image_feature_261_ajhfull.jpg [credit: NASA/Pat Rawlings, SAIC]

1. Introduction to Astronomy
2. Naked Eye Observations
3. Cycles in the Sky
4. Moon Phases
5. Eclipses
6. Telescopes
7. The Gravity of the Situation
8. Tides
9. Introduction to the Solar System
10. The Sun
11. The Earth
12. The Moon
13. Mercury
14. Venus
15. Mars
16. Jupiter
17. Jupiter's Moons
18. Saturn
19. Uranus & Neptune
20. Asteroids
21. Comets
22. The Oort Cloud
23. Meteors
24. Light
25. Distances
26. Stars
27. Exoplanets
28. Brown Dwarfs
29. Low Mass Stars
30. White Dwarfs & Planetary Nebulae
31. High Mass Stars
32. Neutron Stars
33. Black Holes
34. Binary and Multiple Stars
35. Star Clusters
36. Nebulae
37. The Milky Way
38. Galaxies, part 1
39. Galaxies, part 2
40. Gamma-Ray Bursts
41. Dark Matter
42. The Big Bang, Cosmology part 1
43. Dark Energy, Cosmology part 2
44. A Brief History of the Universe
45. Deep Time
46. Everything, The Universe...And Life
47. Explore The Solar System:

In this Crash Course series, marvel at the wonders of astronomy with your host for this intergalactic adventure, the Bad Astronomer himself -- Phil Plait. In just 40 short lessons, you will learn the basics of the oldest science known to humanity.

Be sure to check out links to relevant Photos in the description for each video.