The Solar System

Mercury• Mercury fully rotates (One day) once every 58.646

Earth days• Mercury Orbits the sun faster than any other

planet• A full orbit around the sun (one year) is about 88

Earth days• Mercury has no atmosphere• During daytime surface temperatures can reach

430 degrees Celsius• During nighttime surface temperatures can drop to

-170 degrees Celsius• It is the solar system’s smallest planet• The surface is heavily cratered from meteor and

comet impacts

Venus• Often known as Earth’s “sister” planet• Venus's atmosphere consists mainly

of carbon dioxide• Venus orbits the sun (one year) once

every 225 earth days• Venus rotates on it’s axis (one day)

once every 117 earth days• About 90 percent of the surface of

Venus is recently hardened lava• More than a thousand volcanoes or

volcanic centers all over the planet• Rivers of lava flow over the surface

due to high volcanic activity• From Earth Venus appears to be the

brightest planet in the sky

Earth• The only planet known to

support life• Rotates on it’s axis (one day)

every 24 hours• Orbits the sun once (one year)

about every 365 days• Has a diameter of 12 756

kilometres• About 70% of the planet is

covered by water• Temperatures go from about

-88 degrees Celsius to 58 degrees Celsius

• Earth has just one moon

Mars• Iron in the soil gives reddish-brown

colour• Mars rotates on its axis (one day)

once every 24 hours, 37 minutes• Mars orbits the sun (one year) once

every 687 days• Has a diameter of about 6795

kilometers, so about half of Earth• Known for giant dust storms on the

surface• Scientists are currently trying to find

large sources of water under the surface, so that Mars may support life

• Home to the largest volcanic mountain in the solar system, Olympus Mons

• Two moons, Deimos and Phobos

Jupiter• The largest planet in the solar system (diameter

of 142 984 kilometers)• Jupiter rotates on its axis (one day) once every 9

hours, 56 minutes• Jupiter orbits the sun (one year) once every 4

331 days• Jupiter is home to at least 49 known moons of

various sizes• The many stripes and streaks are storm systems

that can rage for years• The Great Red Spot is a giant spinning storm,

and has been observed for more than 300 years• Jupiter is a gas giant, with an atmosphere of

mostly Hydrogen and Helium• Jupiter’s solid core of ice-rock at the center is

about the size of Earth• Jupiter has rings beneath the surface of gas,

formed mostly by debris

Saturn• Best known for its highly visible rings of

mostly ice • a gas giant like Jupiter, Saturn is made

up of hydrogen and helium• Has a diameter of about 230 537

kilometers• Rotates on its axis (one day) every 10

hours, 39 minutes• Orbits the sun (one year) once every 10

759 days• Fast winds and heat storms in the upper

atmosphere create bands and stripes• Winds can (500 meters) per second

(Fastest on Earth is about 110 meters a second)

Uranus

• Uranus, with no solid surface, is one of the gas giant planets

• Uranus gets its blue-green color from methane gas in the atmosphere

• Uranus's rotation axis is nearly horizontal; meaning it rotates sideways, as if it were tipped over

• There are 11 rings present around the gas giant

• Rotates on its axis (one day) once every 17 hours, 15 minutes

• Orbits the sun (one year) once every 30 867 days

• The average surface temperature is -216 degrees celsius

Neptune• It is invisible to the naked eye because

of its extreme distance from Earth• Uranus's blue-green color is also the

result of atmospheric methane• Neptune's winds are three times

stronger than Jupiter's and nine times stronger than Earth's

• This hurricane-like Great Dark Spot is large enough to contain the entire Earth

• Neptune has 13 known moons, and six rings

• Neptune rotates on its axis (one day) every 16 hours, 7 minutes

• Orbits the sun (one year) once every 60 190 days

Pluto• No longer considered a planet,

Pluto is now just a dwarf planet• Pluto is about 30% smaller than

Earth’s moon• Rotates on its axis (one day) once

every 153 hours, 18 minutes• Orbits the sun (one year) once

every 90 553 days• Very stable temperature, ranging

from -233 to -223 degrees Celsius• The dwarf planet is a whopping 5.9

BILLION kilometers from the sun• Was known as the ninth full planet

until 2006

The Sun• All planets in our solar system orbit

the sun!• Has a diameter of about 1.4 million

kilometers; it could hold 109 planet Earths across its surface

• Deep in the sun's core, nuclear fusion reactions convert hydrogen to helium, which generates energy

• It is already about 4.5 billion years old and has used up nearly half of the hydrogen in its core

• Surface temperature of about 5 538 degrees celsius

• Rotates on it’s axis (one day) once every 609 hours, 7 minutes

Earth’s Moon• Completely orbits earth every 27 days,

7 hours• The moon is the fifth largest moon in

the solar system• The moon has a quarter the diameter

of Earth and 1⁄81 its mass• It is in synchronous rotation with

Earth, always showing the same side!• The Moon's gravitational pull produces

the Earth’s ocean tides• Marked by many craters from impacts

caused by asteriods and meteors• The only solar body which man has

travelled to as of this day

Bibliography

• http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/solar-system

• www.wikipedia.org