View source for Mars orbit

Mars orbits the Sun at a distance of 249,228,730 km at [[Aphelion]] and 206,644,545 km at [[Perihelion]], for an average of about 220 000 000 km.  

The orbit is more elliptical than Earth's so the summer in the northern hemisphere is very long, where as southern summer is quite short.  This means that the South Pole gets far colder than the North Pole.

Because Mars is further from the Sun, it gets about 43% of the light that Earth does.

To see the present position of [[Mars]], click on this link: [https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/ Position of Mars].  Click on the Icon of the solar system.

Every 26 months, Mars and Earth align for a minimum energy hohmman transfer orbit.

==Links==
NASA real time solar system MAP: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/

To explore Mars see the [[Mars Atlas|Mars atlas]].

==References==