2. Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the solar system, orbiting the Sun once every 88 days. It appears as a bright star from Earth. Mercury is similar to the Moon; it is heavily cratered, and has no substantial atmosphere. However, unlike the moon, it has a large iron core, which gives it a magnetic field (only about 1% as strong as Earth's). Its surface temperature ranges between -300 F and 800 F - It is coldest in craters near the poles, which never receive much solar heating.

3. Diameter: 12,104 km (7,522 miles) Distance from Sun: 108 million km (67 million miles) Venus is the second closest planet to the sun between Earth and Mercury. Venus is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty.

4. Water vs. Land: 70.8% Water, 29.2% Land Age of the Earth: 4.5 to 4.6 billion years Distance to the Sun: 93,020,000

5. Weight of a Person on Earth=?? On other Planets Based on weight of 150lbs PlutoSaturnMercury 6 pounds162 pounds43 pounds

7. Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn

8. Here is an animation of the moon’s lunation! MOON!

9. http://www.stariel.com/blog/wp- content/uploads/2008/12/moon_ph ases1.jpg http://www.astrosurf.com/cidadao/ anim_lunation.gif http://geography.about.com/od/le arnabouttheearth/a/earthfacts.htm http://science.nationalgeographic.c om/science/space/solar-system