Bekah Shearer & Tanya Peters

Mercury This planet is the closest to the sun. The distance is only 0.39 AU. An AU is an astronomical unit. The orbit period of Mercury is 0.24 Earth years. Mercury is a planet made up of mostly gas. In earth years the orbit for this planet is 0.24. In relation to earth the diameter of Mercury is 0.38 and the surface gravity is the same. Also in relation to earth the mass of this planet is rather small at just 0.06. The mean orbital spin in kilometers per second stands at 47.9. This planet is also just over the size of our moon. Which is not very big at all.

Venus Venus is the second planet from the sun. Its distance from the sun is 0.72 AU. Venus also has an orbit period of 0.62 earth years. All in relation to the earth, the diameter of Venus is 0.95, The mass is 0.82, And the surface gravity is about 0.91. Like Mercury, Venus is mostly gas. This planet is by far the brightest in the entire solar system. Carbon dioxide and sulfur compound clouds cover this planet. It is the same size as earth and is relatively hot. Summers of this planet reach up to 464 degrees Celsius.

Earth Earth is the planet we live on!!!! Earth is the third planet from the sun. Our orbit period is 364.25 days. Our planet is 1 AU from the sun. Our orbital speed is about 29.8 kilometers per second. Earth is the only planet in our solar system that has intelligent life. The special thing about earth is that are far enough away from earth so we liquid water and we are close enough to the sun that we get warmth and sunlight. This planet also used to have 1 large continent called Pangaea, it was a collaboration of all the planets together. As time went by the continents all spread out and became 7 new planets. This lovely planets also is home to mammals, humans and many other types of intelligent life. .

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the sun. It’s distance from the sun is 1.52 AU. The orbit period is 1.88 earth years. The mean orbital speed is 24.1 kilometers per second. In relation to earth, the diameter is .53. Also in relation to earth, the mass is .11. The surface gravity is 0.38, also in relation to the earth. The time of rotation is 24 hours and 37 minutes. The highest volcano is Olympus Mons. It is 3 times bigger than Mount Everest.

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the sun. Measured in diameter it is the fourth largest plant. The word Neptune in Greek means the god of sea. The diameter of Neptune is 49,532 kilometers. Galileo discovered Neptune when he was looking at the stars, it was very close to Jupiter. The Voyager 2 was the only spacecraft the has visited Neptune. Uranus and Neptune are some what close in details. Neptune has the most powerful wind speed of 2000 kilometers per hour. It also is the most powerful in the solar system. Neptune also has a Great Dark Spot kind of similar to Jupiter’s but its not a storm.

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun. Did you know Jupiter's mass is 328 times the stronger than the Earths. In Greek Jupiter means King of all gods. Galileo discovered Jupiter's four large moons in 1610. Jupiter has almost no water at all. The diameter of Jupiter is 142,984 kilometers. The rings around Jupiter are dark and rocky. Jupiter also looks like the brightest star in the sky. Also has many more small moons. Jupiter has three rings.

Uranus Also it is the third largest planet in the measures of diameter. Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun The diameter of Uranus is 51,118 kilometers. The meaning of this planet in Greeks is Heaven. This planet was discovered on March 13, 1781. Like Neptune this planet has only been visited by the Voyager 2. The axis of Uranus is about parallel to the elliptical. This planet is mostly made up of rocks and a few different types of ices. Like many other planets Uranus has many gas clouds that blow around it. Also this planet has 13 rings, well that we know of.

Pluto Pluto can not be seen by a spacecraft because it is so small. Also Pluto counts as a dwarf planet because it is so tiny. Charon a new planet like Pluto is the same it is hard to find their measurements because they require much more complicated measurements. Pluto was discovered in the 1900’s by accident. The diameter of Pluto is 2274 kilometers. Pluto is a Greek name which means the underworld god. On January 2006 they launched a space craft called New Horizons and it should reach Pluto by the year 2015. Pluto’s gas is frozen unless it is in its Perihelion stage. A planet called Triton has some related history to Pluto. Pluto can be seen if you look very closely with an Amateur telescope.

Saturn Saturn is the 6th planet from the sun. It is exactly 9.54 AU from the sun. The orbit period is 29.46 earth years. The mean orbital speed of this planet is 9.6 kilometers per second. The diameter of this planet is 9.41, in relation to earth. Also in relation to earth, the mass is 94.3. The surface gravity is also in relation to earth, it is 1.07. The planet is the second largest in the solar system. This planet has at least 18 moons. It also has several rings.

Bibliography Allen, Michael, Georgi Delgadillo, Allen Greer, Dave Howe, Christina Moreau, Richard Stevens, Eric Strang, Jim Draggoo, and Micheal Moreau. "Improving Science, Math, Reading and Writing." Kid's Cosmos-Science Resources for Teachers and Students. Web. 18 Jan. 2011. <http://www.kidscosmos.org>. “Introduction.” The Nine Planets Astronomy for Kids. 1994. Web. 24 Jan. 2011. http://kids.nineplanets.org/intro.htm. Sager, Robert J., William L. Ramsey, Clifford R. Phillips, and Frank M. Watenpaugh. Modern Earth Science. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2002. Print