Planet Highlights

Mercury

Mercury Highest Density Thinnest Atmosphere Highest Temperature and Greatest Temperature Range Messenger will fly by in 2011 Surface is similar to the moon, very cratered, old

Venus

Venus It’s day is longer than its year Still volcanically active and covered with large lava flows It has no moons Atmosphere is mostly Carbon Dioxide, which causes a large Greenhouse Effect, raising its temperature

Venus: Earth’s Twin Similar in size Similar density Young, volcanically active surface Probably used to have water that boiled away

Mars

Exploration of Mars Has been explored more than any other planet: Mariner 4 visited for the first time in 1965 Landers include Mars 2, Viking, Pathfinder, Spirit, and Opportunity 3 orbiters are currently in orbit We have learned a lot about the surface of Mars as a result

Surface of Mars Largest Mountain/Volcano in Solar System: Olympus Mons

Surface of Mars Rocky Evidence of erosion possibly by liquid water: Dry river beds and canyons Volcanoes and lava flows Red Planet

Largest Canyon in solar system Would stretch from New York to Los Angeles on earth

Moons of Mars 2 Moons Phobos Deimos

Other Mars Facts Very thin atmosphere Permanent polar ice caps made of water and carbon dioxide

Asteroid Belt The region between Mars and Jupiter contains irregularly shaped rocky objects called asteroids.

Asteroids Asteroids are probably left over material from a planet that never formed. They range in size from 1000 km to the size of a pebble. There are 26 large ones and millions of smaller ones, although most of the asteroid belt is empty space.

Jupiter Gas Giant: No solid surface, it’s gases just get more dense. Under the gases is a liquid metallic core (at high temperatures and pressures the hydrogen becomes a liquid with ionized protons and electrons that conduct electricity like a metal) Made mostly of Hydrogen and Helium Rocky core 10-15 times the mass of earth

Jupiter Lots of images from Hubble Flyby in 1973 by Pioneer, Voyager Orbited for 8 years by Galileo

Jupiter Facts Has the Great Red Spot- giant storm in its gases Has faint rings Has 63 moons, 4 very large ones Was hit by a comet in 1994 So big all of the other planets would fit inside it (diameter is 11 times that of earth)

Saturn Gas Giant containing a gas surface of mostly Hydrogen and Helium, a liquid hydrogen metal outer core, and a rocky inner core Has large, prominent rings with spaces between them Cassini is orbiting since 2004 Voyager and Pioneer visited 34 moons

Saturn Saturn has such a low density it would float in water!

Titan- Saturn’s Moon Larger than Mercury and Pluto Second largest moon in solar system Has a planet-like atmosphere Has places on it that look like liquid-filled lakes (probably not water)

Titan We sent Cassini THROUGH Saturn’s rings to orbit Titan. Then we dropped Huygens onto the surface of Titan. It landed with the help of 3 parachutes to slow it down from 12,000 mph Found mud, rock, and liquid

Uranus Gas Giant: It’s atmosphere has Hydrogen and Helium, but it’s interior is rocky and icy. Only visited once by Voyager Rotates on it’s side with its south pole facing the sun 11 rings 27 moons

Uranus

Neptune Sometimes its orbit crosses that of Pluto, making it farther away from the sun than Pluto Visited only once by Voyager Gas Giant with a Gas surface of hydrogen and helium, and then a rocky, icy core 13 Moons and faint rings

Neptune

Kuiper Belt Region beyond Neptune with small, icy objects that are the source of comets Sedna and other small planetoids are located here