Our Solar System

Held together by Newtonian Mechanics

Assembled ByKen Mitchell

Livermore TOPScience

Mercury in Accentuated Color

Close ups of Mercury

Mariner 10’s flyby

Mercury

Mariner 10’s flyby

Mercury Chases the Sunset

Viewing Mercury is a Challenge

Mercury on the Horizon

Venus against a starry background

Venus Unveiled

Elevations based on radar measurements

of Venus during the Magellan

Mission

Welcome to Planet Earth

Mutual gravitational perturbations between different planets are present in any planetary system with more than one planet. In our solar system, under the influence of the other planets, the Earth's orbit periodically evolves from purely circular to slightly eccentric. This is actually enough to trigger the alternation of warm and glacial eras. More drastic orbital changes could well have prevented the development of life.

From “Astronomy & Astrophysics” paper – April ’07

Mars’ Near Approach to Earth

Mars in Opposition, 2001

Mars in Retrograde

Mars Was Closest to Earth on December 18, ‘07

Mars on December 11th 2007

Jupiter & 3 of the Galilean Moons.

Guess which one is missing.

Hubble spots rare triple eclipse on

Jupiter

Jupiter’s X-Ray Auroras

Aurora on Jupiter

                                                           

                                                             

The Great Red Spot

Europa & Io showing Volcano

Tvashtar

Saturn from Cassini at about 110 million km

Saturn – Another view

Sun Behind Saturn

A Mysterious Hexagonal Cloud System on Saturn

Saturnian Aurora

Uranus with Rings and Moons

Hubble captures a rare eclipse on Uranus

A Sharper View of a Tilted Planet

Spring time on Neptune

Triton: Neptune's Largest Moon

Pluto and its moon Charon

Possible Pluto Moons