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Mars looks distinctly red through a telescope. What gives it that color?
AIron oxides in its soil
BRed dust in its clouds
CWarm rock under ice
DSulfur across its poles
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. Iron oxides in its soil
1. The color comes from the ground itself, not from the thin air above it.
2. Iron oxides in the martian soil give the surface its rusty red tone.
3. That color is why many early cultures linked the planet with war and blood.
_Source: OpenStax Astronomy (CC BY 4.0), section 10.1 The Nearest Planets: An Overview_