OUR SOLAR SYSTEM Websites used: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/index.cfm, http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/welcome.htm

Namesake: Messenger of the Roman Gods Fast Facts: Namesake: Messenger of the Roman Gods Diameter: 4878 km (The Earth is 12,756 km) Distance from Sun: 57.8 million km (36 million miles) Temperatures: Day: 467 degrees C Night: -183 degrees C Rotation: 59 Earth days Revolution: 88 Earth days Biggest Temperature Difference in the Solar System! http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Mercury&Display=Facts

Mercury

Earth’s Sister Planet The bluish hue of Venus is an effect of the colorization technique used to enhance subtle contrasts in cloud patterns and indicates that this image was taken through a violet filter. Features in the sulfuric acid clouds near the top of the planet's atmosphere are most prominent in violet and ultraviolet light. This image shows the east to west cloud banding and the brighter polar hoods . The features are embedded in winds that flow from east to west at about 370 kph (230 mph).

Namesake: Roman Goddess of Love Fast Facts: Namesake: Roman Goddess of Love Diameter: 12,100 km (The Earth is 12,756 km) Distance from Sun: 108.2 million km (67 million miles) Temperature: 484 degrees C (900 degrees F) Rotation: 243 days (Retrograde) Revolution: 225 Earth days Atmosphere: Carbon Dioxide The HOTTEST planet in the Solar System! Venus Pic: The hemispheric view of Venus, as revealed by more than a decade of radar investigations culminating in the 1990-1994 Magellan mission, is centered at 270 degrees east longitude. The Magellan spacecraft imaged more than 98% of Venus at a resolution of about 100 meters; the effective resolution of this image is about 3 km. A mosaic of the Magellan images (most with illumination from the west) forms the image base. Gaps in the Magellan coverage were filled with images from the Earth-based Arecibo radar in a region centered roughly on 0 degree latitude and longitude, and with a neutral tone elsewhere (primarily near the south pole). The composite image was processed to improve contrast and to emphasize small features, and was color-coded to represent elevation. Gaps in the elevation data from the Magellan radar altimeter were filled with altimetry from the Venera spacecraft and the U.S. Pioneer Venus missions. An orthographic projection was used, simulating a distant view of one hemisphere of the planet. The Magellan mission was managed for NASA by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA. Data processed by JPL, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, and the U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ. The OPPOSITE of the Earth’s rotation!

Venus

(The only planet known to contain life) Fast Facts: Diameter: 12,756 km Distance from Sun: 149.6 million km Rotation: 23.93 hours Revolution: 365.26 days Tilt: 23.45 degrees INTERESTING TIDBITS: - All of the things we need to survive are provided under a thin layer of atmosphere that separates us from the uninhabitable void of space. - Oceans at least 4 km deep cover nearly 70 percent of Earth's surface. Moon/Earth Pic (Earthrise): Taken from Apollo 8.

Namesake: Roman God of War Diameter: 6,786 km (The Earth is 12,756 km) Fast Facts: Namesake: Roman God of War Diameter: 6,786 km (The Earth is 12,756 km) Distance from Sun: 253 million km (142 million miles) Temperature: -143 degrees C to 17 degrees C Rotation: 24.6 hours Revolution: 687 Earth days Atmosphere: Carbon Dioxide Moons (2): Phobos and Deimos Gravity: 1/3 of Earth’s Background: Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called the 'Red Planet' because of its red soil. The soil on Mars is red because it contains iron oxide (rust). Mars is a little like Earth, only smaller, drier and colder. There are places on Earth that are a little like Mars - Death Valley, Calif., Antarctica and volcanoes in Hawaii. Both planets have polar ice caps, volcanoes, canyons and four seasons (the seasons on Mars are twice as long). Compare Mars with Earth and other planets. The thin air on Mars makes it a dangerous place for humans. It is mostly poisonous carbon dioxide. You would need a spacesuit to visit Mars. Recently, scientists found lots of frozen water (scientists say water ice) just under the surface of Mars. This means astronauts who may visit Mars in the future will have plenty of water - enough to fill Lake Michigan twice. Mars is a rocky planet. It is dusty and dry. The sky would be hazy and red instead of blue. Sometimes giant dust storms cover the whole planet. Man-made, Alien-made or naturally occurring? :-)

Mars

Namesake: King of Roman Gods Diameter: 143,200 km This storm has been around for about 300 years! Over 12 Earth diameters! Fast Facts: Namesake: King of Roman Gods Diameter: 143,200 km Distance from Sun: 778.3 million km (484 million miles) Temperature: -148 degrees C Rotation: 9 hrs 55 min Revolution: 11.9 Earth years Atmosphere: Hydrogen and Helium Moons: 63 Rings: 4 Family Portrait of Jupiter's Great Red Spot and the Galilean Satellites This "family portrait," a composite of the Jovian system, includes the edge of Jupiter with its Great Red Spot, and Jupiter's four largest moons, known as the Galilean satellites. From top to bottom, the moons shown are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. The Great Red Spot, a storm in Jupiter's atmosphere, is at least 300 years old. Winds blow counterclockwise around the Great Red Spot at about 400 kilometers per hour (250 miles per hour). The storm is larger than one Earth diameter from north to south, and more than two Earth diameters from east to west. In this oblique view, the Great Red Spot appears longer in the north-south direction. Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto - moons of Jupiter By far the most in the solar system!

Jupiter

“The Jewel of the Solar System” Fast Facts: Namesake: Roman God of Agriculture Diameter: 120,536 km (Earth is 12,756 km) Distance from Sun: 1.4 billion km (886 million miles) Temperature: -178 degrees C Rotation: 10 hrs 40 min Revolution: 29.5 Earth years Atmosphere: Hydrogen and Helium Number of Moons: 46 Rings: Thousands Saturn is a lot like Jupiter. It is made up mostly of gas, including hydrogen, helium and methane. It doesn't have a solid surface. Saturn has clouds stripes and storms like Jupiter, but they are harder to see. The clouds we see are mostly yellow and white. One scientist compared them to a lemon meringue pie. A person -- or spacecraft -- dropping through the icy clouds would be crushed. The pressure -- the same kind you feel when you dive into the deep end of a pool-- is so powerful it squeezes gas into liquid. Even a metal spacecraft would be smashed. It is not a nice place for humans. Saturn has the most spectacular rings of any planet in the solar system. They are made of billions of small chunks of ice and rock. The chunks can be as small as a grain of sugar or as big as a house. Scientists think the rings formed when moons and other objects were torn apart by Saturn's powerful gravity. The rings would look mostly white if you looked at them from the cloud tops of Saturn. Saturn has at least 46 moons. In 2004, a probe from Earth landed on Titan, the solar system's second largest moon. Before this, Titan's surface was hidden by smog. Rings were first discovered by Galileo in 1610. one of its moons

Saturn

“The Sideways Planet” Fast Facts: rotates Namesake: Roman God, Father of the Titans Diameter: 51,120 km (The Earth is 12,756 km) Distance from Sun: 2.9 billion km (1.8 billion miles) Temperature: -216 degrees C (-357 degrees F) Rotation: 17 hrs 14 min Revolution: 84 Earth years Atmosphere: Hydrogen and Helium Rings: 11 Moons: 27

Uranus

Namesake: Roman God of the Sea Fast Facts: Namesake: Roman God of the Sea Diameter: 49,500 km (The Earth is 12,756 km) Distance from Sun: 4.5 billion km (2.8 billion miles) Temperature: -214 degrees C (-353 degrees F) Rotation: 16 hours Revolution: 165 Earth years Atmosphere: Hydrogen and Helium Number of Rings: 4 Number of Moons: 13 http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Neptune&Display=Overview

Neptune

Fast Facts: Namesake: Roman God of the Underworld Diameter: 2,400 km (The Earth is 12,756 km) Distance from Sun: 5.9 billion km (3.7 billion miles) Temperature: -233 degrees C (-387 degrees F) Rotation: 6.4 days Revolution: 248 Earth years Moons: 1

Pluto

OUR TENTH PLANET?                                                                                                                                                                                                                This artist's concept shows the planet catalogued as 2003UB313 at the lonely outer fringes of our solar system. Our Sun can be seen in the distance. The new planet, which is yet to be formally named, is at least as big as Pluto and about three times farther away from the Sun than Pluto. It is very cold and dark. The planet was discovered by the Samuel Oschin Telescope at the Palomar Observatory near San Diego, Calif., on Jan. 8, 2005.