The Solar System Steele Smith

The Solar System

Mercury

Mercury - does not have a atmosphere; Fun facts about Mercury include: - closest planet to the sun; - not easily seen except during twilight; - the diameter is 4,879km; - wide temperature range at -173 to 427°C; - orbit period is 87.97 Earth days; - doesn’t have any moons; - located 15,000,000 km from the sun; - has wrinkles called Lobate Scarps that come from its iron core being cooled and contracted; - does not have a atmosphere; - only 2 spacecraft’s have visited Mercury-Mariner 10 in 1974 and 1975, and The Messenger Probe in 2004; - the next time Mercury can be seen from the Earth passing across the face of the sun is on May 9, 2016.

Venus

Venus Fun facts about Venus include: -2nd planet from the sun; -brightest object in the night sky after the moon; -2nd largest terrestrial planet; - often called Earth’s sister planet because of their similar size and mass; -diameter is 12,104 km; -temperature is 462°C; -orbits in 224.70 Earth days; -takes 243 Earth days to rotate on its axis; - rotates counter clockwise; -its surface has a layer of clouds made up of sulfuric acid; -Russia’s Venera 3 was the first man-made craft to land on Venus in 1946; -atmosphere is 96% carbon dioxide; -also known as the morning and evening star.

Earth

Earth Fun facts about Earth include: -3rd planet from the sun; -the largest of the terrestrial planets; -only planet known to support life; -diameter is 12,756 km; -1 moon; -orbit is 365.26 Earth days; -rotates on its axis every 24 hours; -surface temperatures -88 to 58°C; - distance from the sun is 92,960,000 miles; -gravity between the Earth and the moon causes the tides on Earth; -atmosphere is composed of 78% nitrogen; -has a ozone layer to protect it from harmful solar radiation; -70% of Earth is covered in water.

Mars

Mars Fun facts about Mars include: -4th planet from the sun; -terrestrial planet; -sometimes called the red planet because of the brownish-red color of its surface;; -2nd smallest behind Mercury; -diameter is 6,000,805 km; - has 2 moons, Phobos and Deimos; -Marsnik 1 was the fist spacecraft launched to study mars; -in 2016 Europe Exobiology on Mars program will search for signs of life and study the surface; -has huge dust storms; -atmosphere is made of 95% carbon dioxide; -the surface has craters; -1 full rotation takes 24 hours 40 minuets; -interior is made of three layers :a crust, mantle and core.

Jupiter

Jupiter -a gas giant; -diameter is 142,000,984 km; -67 known moons; Fun facts about Jupiter include: -largest planet in the solar system; -5th planet from the sun; -a gas giant; -diameter is 142,000,984 km; -67 known moons; -has 4 rings; -takes 11.86 Earth years to orbit the sun; -Surface temperature is -108°C; -fastest rotating planet at 9 hours and 55 minutes; -upper atmosphere is divided into zones and cloud belts, and is roughly 90% hydrogen; -has the great red spot (a massive storm); -8 spacecraft’s have visited Jupiter so far; Galileo discovered 4 moons in 1610.

Saturn

Saturn Fun facts about Saturn include: -6th planet from the sun; -a gas giant; -2nd largest planet; -named from the root of the English word “Saturday”; -farthest planet that can be seen by a human; -rotates in 10 and a half hours -885,904,700 miles from the sun; -atmosphere is 96.3% hydrogen; -has at least 62 moons with the largest being Titan; -Galileo Galilei was the first to see Saturn’s rings in 1610; -the first spacecraft to reach Saturn was pioneer 11 in 1979,which discovered 2 of the outer rings; -the rings are made of water, ice, and also includes rocky particles with icy coatings; -one orbit is 259.5 Earth years.

Uranus

Uranus Fun facts about Uranus include: -officially discovered by Sir William Herschel in 1781; -rotates every 17 hours 14 minutes; -orbits the sun every 84 Earth years; -nicknamed the “ice giants”; -a gas giant; -upper atmosphere is made of water, ammonia and methane gas ice crystals that give off a pale blue color; -minimum of -224°C; -has a total of 13 rings first discovered in 1977; -7th planet from the sun; -has 27 moons; -diameter is 51,118 km.

Neptune

Neptune Fun facts about Neptune include: -a gas giant; -8th planet from the sun; -most windiest planet in our solar system; -4,504,000,000 km from the sun; -the diameter is 49,532km; -the temperature is -218°C; -the gravity is very, very strong; - currently has 14 moons; -the atmosphere is made of methane gas, water, ammonia and other ices; -1 spacecraft has been there and its name is voyager 2; -it is more dense is more dense than Uranus.

Pluto

Pluto

Pluto Fun facts about Pluto include: -nicknamed the “dwarf planet;” -smallest planet in our solar system; -9th planet from the sun; -smaller than 7 moons; -is 5,913,520,000km from the sun; -the diameter is 2,372km; -Pluto and one of its moons orbit each other; -rotates the opposite way like a lot of other planets; -temperature varies between -235 and -210°C.

References space.com space-facts.com theplanets.org nineplanets.org