THE PLANETS OF THE

SOLAR SYSTEM

There are eight planets of the solar system. The planets are commonly divided into two groups.

The Inner planets

MercuryVenus Earth Mars

The Outer planets

Jupiter Saturn UranusNeptune.

These are the Planets are orbited around the Sun.

Mercuryis the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System.

It looks like a pinkish star but it is difficult to find in the sky because it stays close to the sun. It is seen in the east before sunrise or in the west just after sunset.

The planets spins on its axis very slowly which means that one side of it faces the Sun for long. The other side because it faces away from the Sun. Its temperature is a Freezing -290°F (180°C).

Planets is covered with craters and looks like the moon. But Mercury, unlike the moon. Has no large flat plains or seas.

VenusIs the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days.

Venus is the brightest object in the sky. Of all the planets. Also Venus has a deep atmosphere and thick clouds. It is both evening star and the morning star.

Two reason why Venus shines brighter than other planets

It is permanently covered with the think clouds that reflect sunlight brilliantly.

It is the planet that come closest to the earth, sometimes within 26 million miles.

1962

United states launched the Mariner 2 which was the first fly by to Venus.

1967The Mariner five Fallowed.

1974The Mariner ten next

Two Higher regions or continents

• Aprodite Terra – which is about the size of Africa.

• Ishtar Terra – which is about the size of Australia.

MARSIs the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. Mars called the RED PLANET.

Mars is similar to earth in some aspect. The planet has an atmosphere and like our planet. Mars has two satellite, Phobos and Deimos.

In MARS there is an upland region called Tharsis Ridge, which boasts of three huge extinct volcanoes up to 12 miles high. An even higher volcano, the Olympus Mars is located. Nearby. This volcano shows all the characteristics of a basaltic volcano. At a height of 17 miles (27 kilometers ), the volcano is three times higher than the Earth highest mountain. (Mount Everest).

Jupiter

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. This planet is truly gigantic. It is more than 300 times the mass of the Earth. In fact, the mass of Jupiter is almost 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the solar system, Jupiter rotates fastest – once every 9 hours, 55 minutes and 30 seconds.

SATURN

Is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Named after the Roman god Saturn, its astronomical symbol ( ) represents the god's ♄ sickle. Saturn is a gas giant with an average radius about nine times that of Earth. While only 1/8 the average density of Earth, with its larger volume Saturn is just over 95 times more massive than Earth.

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Ring of Saturn

The ring look magnificent. They form a flat disk around the planet’s equator. From one side to the other, the rings measure 168,000 miles.

Three Distinct Ring A,B and C.

Outer A ring is separated B ring by a gap known as the Cassini division. Middle ring B is the brightest . Saturn rings are mostly empty. Recent studies spokes – radial inconsistencies that appear as darker region.

EARTH

Earth (or the Earth) is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets. It is sometimes referred to as the world, the Blue Planet, or by its Latin name, Terra.

• Earth formed approximately 4.54 billion years ago by accretion from the solar nebula, and life appeared on its surface within one billion years. The planet is home to millions of species, including humans.

• Earth interacts with other objects in space, especially the Sun and the Moon. At present, Earth orbits the Sun once every 366.26 times it rotates about its own axis, which is equal to 365.26 solar days, or one sidereal year.

THE PLANETS MERCURY VENUS EARTH MARS JUPITER SATURN

Mean distance from Sun(AU)

0.39 0.72 1.00 1.52 5.20 9.54

Period of revolution About Sun(days)

88 224.7 365.2 687 11.8y 29.5y

Eccentricity of Orbit 0.21 0.01 0.02 0.09 0.05 0.06

Inclination of Orbit(degrees)

7.0 3.4 0.0 1.85 1.30 2.49

Mass (Earth =1) 0.06 0.82 1.00 0.11 317.8 95.1

Radius (Earth = 1) 0.38 0.95 1.00 0.53 11.2 9.42

Mean Density(water =1)

5.4 5.2 5.5 3.9 1.3 0.7

Rotation period (about axis)

58.7 days 243 days

23.93hours

24.6hours

9.8hours

10.665 hours

Inclination of equator to orbit (degrees)

0 -2 23.5 25 3 27

Known satellites 0 0 1 2 16 20+