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Mars: Extreme Planet

A Martian Year

For any planet, a year is the time it takes to make one orbit around the sun.

Because Mars is farther away from the sun, it has to travel a greater distance around the sun.  It takes Mars about twice as long as it does for Earth to make one circle around the sun.  Therefore, a year on Mars lasts twice as long.

This illustration shows a comparison of an Earth year and a Mars year.

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