Unit 3

The Solar System

Our solar system consists of an average star we call the Sun, the planets:
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. It
includes: the satellites of the planets; numerous comets ,asteroids, and
meteoroids; and the interplanetary medium.
The Sun is the richest source of electromagnetic energy (mostly in the form of heat
and light) in the solar system. The Sun's nearest known stellar neighbour is a red
dwarf star called Proxima Centauri, at a distance of 4.3 light years away. The
whole solar system, together with the local stars visible on a clear night, orbits the
centre of our home galaxy, a spiral disk of 200 billion stars we call the Milky Way.
The Milky Way has two small galaxies orbiting it nearby, which are visible from
the southern hemisphere. They are called the Large Magellanic Cloud and the
Small Magellanic Cloud. The nearest large galaxy is the Andromeda Galaxy. It is a
spiral galaxy like the Milky Way but is 4 times as massive and is 2 million light
years away. Our galaxy, one of billions of galaxies known, is travelling through
intergalactic space.

The planets, most of the satellites of the planets and the asteroids revolve around
the Sun in the same direction, in nearly circular orbits. When looking down from
above the Sun's north Pole, the planets orbit in a counter-clockwise direction. The
planets orbit the Sun in or near the same plane, called the ecliptic. Pluto is a
special case in that its orbit is the most highly inclined (18 degrees) and the most
highly elliptical of all the planets. Because of this, for part of its orbit, Pluto is
closer to the Sun than is Neptune. The axis of rotation for most of the planets is
nearly perpendicular to the ecliptic. The exceptions are Uranus and Pluto, which
are tipped on their sides.

Composition of the Solar System

The Sun contains 99.85% of all the matter in the Solar System. The planets, which
condensed out of the same disk of material that formed the Sun, contain only
0.135% of the mass of the solar system. Jupiter contains more than twice the
matter of all the other planets combined. Satellites of the planets, comets, asteroids,
meteoroids, and the interplanetary medium constitute the remaining 0.015%. The
following table is a list of the mass distribution within our Solar System.

 Sun: 99.85%
 Planets: 0.135%
 Comets: 0.01% ?
 Satellites: 0.00005%
 Minor Planets: 0.0000002% ?
 Meteoroids: 0.0000001% ?
 Interplanetary Medium: 0.0000001% ?
Interplanetary Space
Nearly all the solar system by volume appears to be an empty void. Far from being
nothingness, this vacuum of "space" comprises the interplanetary medium. It
includes various forms of energy and at least two material components:
interplanetary dust and interplanetary gas. Interplanetary dust consists of
microscopic solid particles. Interplanetary gas is a tenuous flow of gas and charged
particles, mostly protons and electrons -- plasma -- which stream from the Sun,
called the solar wind.

The solar wind can be measured by spacecraft, and it has a large effect on comet
tails. It also has a measurable effect on the motion of spacecraft. The speed of the
solar wind is about 400 kilometres (250 miles) per second in the vicinity of Earth's
orbit. The point at which the solar wind meets the interstellar medium, which is the
"solar" wind from other stars, is called the heliopause. It is a boundary theorized to
be roughly circular or teardrop-shaped, marking the edge of the Sun's influence
perhaps 100 AU from the Sun. The space within the boundary of the heliopause,
containing the Sun and solar system, is referred to as the heliosphere.

The solar magnetic field extends outward into interplanetary space; it can be
measured on Earth and by spacecraft. The solar magnetic field is the dominating
magnetic field throughout the interplanetary regions of the solar system, except in
the immediate environment of planets which have their own magnetic fields.

 The Terrestrial Planets

The terrestrial planets are the four innermost planets in the solar
system, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. They are called terrestrial because they
have a compact, rocky surface like the Earth's. The planets, Venus, Earth, and Mars
have significant atmospheres while Mercury has almost none. The following
diagram shows the approximate distance of the terrestrial planets to the Sun.
  The Jovian Planets
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are known as the Jovian (Jupiter-like)
planets, because they are all gigantic compared with Earth, and they have a
gaseous nature like Jupiter's. The Jovian planets are also referred to as the gas
giants, although some or all of them might have small solid cores. The following
diagram shows the approximate distance of the Jovian planets to the Sun.
The solar system consists of the Sun; the eight official planets, at least three
"dwarf planets", more than 130 satellites of the planets, a large number
of small bodies (the comets and asteroids), and the interplanetary medium.
(There are probably also many more planetary satellites that have not yet been
discovered.)
The inner solar system contains the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars:

The main asteroid belt (not shown) lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The
planets of the outer solar system are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune (Pluto is
now classified as a dwarf planet):
The first thing to notice is that the solar system is mostly empty space. The planets
are very small compared to the space between them. Even the dots on the diagrams
above are too big to be in proper scale with respect to the sizes of the orbits.

The orbits of the planets are ellipses with the Sun at one focus, though all except
Mercury are very nearly circular. The orbits of the planets are all more or less in the
same plane (called the ecliptic and defined by the plane of the Earth's orbit). The
ecliptic is inclined only 7 degrees from the plane of the Sun's equator. The above
diagrams show the relative sizes of the orbits of the eight planets (plus Pluto) from a
perspective somewhat above the ecliptic (hence their non-circular appearance).
They all orbit in the same direction (counter-clockwise looking down from above the
Sun's North Pole); all but Venus, Uranus and Pluto also rotate in that same sense.

Sizes

The above composite shows the eight planets and Pluto with approximately correct
relative sizes

One way to help visualize the relative sizes in the solar system is to imagine a model
in which everything is reduced in size by a factor of a billion. Then the model Earth
would be about 1.3 cm in diameter (the size of a grape). The Moon would be about
30 cm (about a foot) from the Earth. The Sun would be 1.5 meters in diameter (about
the height of a man) and 150 meters (about a city block) from the Earth. Jupiter
would be 15 cm in diameter (the size of a large grapefruit) and 5 blocks away from
the Sun. Saturn (the size of an orange) would be 10 blocks away; Uranus and
 Neptune (lemons) 20 and 30 blocks away. A human on this scale would be the size
of an atom but the nearest star would be over 40000 km away.

Not shown in the above illustrations are the numerous smaller bodies that inhabit the
solar system: the satellites of the planets; the large number of asteroids (small rocky
bodies) orbiting the Sun, mostly between Mars and Jupiter but also elsewhere;
the comets (small icy bodies) which come and go from the inner parts of the solar
system in highly elongated orbits and at random orientations to the ecliptic; and the
many small icy bodies beyond Neptune in the Kuiper Belt. With a few exceptions, the
planetary satellites orbit in the same sense as the planets and approximately in the
plane of the ecliptic but this are not generally true for comets and asteroids. The
classification of these objects is a matter of minor controversy. Traditionally, the solar
system has been divided into planets (the big bodies orbiting the Sun), their satellites
(moons, variously sized objects orbiting the planets), asteroids (small dense objects
orbiting the Sun) and comets (small icy objects with highly eccentric orbits).
Unfortunately, the solar system has been found to be more complicated than this
would suggest:

 there are several moons larger than Pluto and two larger than Mercury;
 there are many small moons that are probably started out as asteroids and
were only later captured by a planet;
 comets sometimes fizzle out and become indistinguishable from asteroids;
 the Kuiper Belt objects (including Pluto) and others like Chiron don't fit this
scheme well
 The Earth/Moon and Pluto/Charon systems are sometimes considered
"double planets".

Other classifications based on chemical composition and/or point of origin can be

proposed which attempt to be more physically valid. But they usually end up with
either too many classes or too many exceptions. The bottom line is that many of the
bodies are unique; the actual situation is too complicated for simple categorization.
In the pages that follow, I will use the conventional categorizations.
The eight bodies officially categorized as planets are often further classified in
several ways:

 by composition:
o terrestrial or rocky planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars:
 The terrestrial planets are composed primarily of rock and metal
and have relatively high densities, slow rotation, solid surfaces, no rings and few
satellites.
o jovian or gas planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune:
 The gas planets are composed primarily of hydrogen and helium
and generally have low densities, rapid rotation, deep atmospheres, rings and lots of
satellites.
 by size:
o small planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars.
 The small planets have diameters less than 13000 km.
o giant planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
 The giant planets have diameters greater than 48000 km.
o The giant planets are sometimes also referred to as gas giants.
 by position relative to the Sun:
o inner planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.
o outer planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
o The asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter forms the boundary
between the inner solar system and the outer solar system.
 by position relative to Earth:
o inferior planets: Mercury and Venus.
 closer to the Sun than Earth.
 The inferior planets show phases like the Moon's when viewed
from Earth.
o Earth.
o superior planets: Mars thru Neptune.
 farther from the Sun than Earth.
 The superior planets always appear full or nearly so.
 by history:
o classical planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.
 known since prehistorical times
 visible to the unaided eye
 in ancient times this term also referred to the Sun and the Moon;
the order was usually specificied as: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury and
Moon, based on the time for them to go "all the way round" the sphere of the "fixed"
stars).
o Modern planets: Uranus, Neptune.
 discovered in modern times
 visible only with optical aid
o Earth.
o The IAU decided that "classical" should refer to all eight planets
(Mercury thru Neptune, including Earth but not Pluto). This is contrary to historical
usage but makes some sense from a 21st century perspective.
 Sun

At the very centre of the Solar System is the Sun. the Sun is a star, a massive ball of gas
which produces huge amounts of heat and light. It is the key reason why the planets in
the Solar System are present, and why life on Earth is able to exist. Without the Sun,
there would be no light, no warmth, no water, no plants, animals or people. 

The Sun is a star and isn't much different to the millions of other stars in the sky. The reason
it appears so much bigger and brighter than other stars is because it is so much closer
to Earth than they are, being only eight light minutes away from Earth. This means that it
takes eight minutes for the light from the Sun to reach Earth, meaning that when you look at
the Sun, you are seeing it as it was eight minutes ago! Although the Sun is the closest star
to Earth, it is still a long long way away, being nearly 150 million kilometres away (about 93
million miles). It is also more than ten times wider than Earth which could fit into it over one
million times. The fact that it provides so much light and heat to Earth from that distance
shows how huge and powerful it is! The nearest star after the Sun is Proxima Centauri, 4.3
Light Years away, or 40,000,000,000,000 kilometres away! (25,000,000,000,000 miles), so, if
we were to see that star in the sky, we would be seeing it as it was over four years ago.

Earth and the other planets in the Solar System spin around the Sun, kept in its orbit by its
strong pull of gravity. Each time a planet has spun around the Sun and has returned to where
it began, a year has passed. It takes just over 365 days for Earth to spin round the Sun, so a
year on Earth is 365 days long. A year on Mercury, the planet closest to The Sun, is only 88
days long, but a year on dwarf planet Pluto, millions of miles away from the Sun, is as long
as 248 earth years! Although the Sun looks like a perfect bright yellow sphere, there are
sometimes a number of dark spots on it. These are sunspots, areas where the Sun's
temperature is coolest, roughly between 2,700 °C to 4,200 °C (4,900 °F to 7,600 °F). Usually
the Sun's surface temperature is about 5,500 °C (9,900 °F), and is much hotter inside! To
imagine how hot that is, temperatures on Earth never really exceed 50 °C (122 °F), and the
average temperature around the planet is about 15 °C (59 °F).

The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar system. It is almost perfectly
spherical and consists of hot plasma. It has a diameter of about 1,392,000km,
about 109 times that of Earth, and its mass about 2×1030 kilograms, 330,000
times that of Earth. Chemically, about three quarters (3/4) of the Sun's mass
consists of hydrogen, while the rest is mostly helium. Less than 2% consists of
heavier elements, including oxygen, carbon, neon, iron, and others.
Sun is the nearest star to our earth. Sun being the source of almost all energy
available to us and thus maintains life on earth. Suns radiant energy is generated
through thermonuclear reactions (fusion reaction) involving the conversion of
hydrogen to helium.
Sun's structure

Much like the earth, the Sun has many different layers that define its structure.
Unlike the earth, the Sun is completely gaseous; there is no solid surface on the
Sun. Although the Sun is completely made of gas, the density and temperature of
the gas changes drastically as you travel from the centre to the outermost regions.
In the core of the Sun the density is as high as 150 grams per cubic centimetre. In
other words, a piece of the Sun's core the size of your two thumbs would have
about as much mass as a six pack of soda pop. At the other extreme, near the base
of the outermost layer, the corona, the density has dropped to about 1x10-15 grams
per cubic centimetre. This value is close to laboratory vacuum densities here on
earth.

The temperature patterns in the Sun are not well understood. The core has a very
high temperature of more that 15 million degrees Kelvin. As you move away from
the heat producing core the temperature drops to about 6000 degrees at the
photosphere, the effective surface of the Sun. The puzzling thing is that the
temperature then rises again to more than 2 million degrees in the corona which is
the furthest layer from the core. Researchers are currently investigating what might
cause the Sun to have such a curious temperature profile.

Sun's structure can be divided into different layers given as:

1.) Core 2.) Radiation zone 3.) Convection zone 4.) Photosphere
Chromo sphere 6) Transition region 7) Corona
Core:
Core is the source of all the Sun's energy. Sun's core has a very high
temperature, more than 15 million degrees Kelvin, with a density of 160 g/cm3,
so that the conditions are appropriate for nuclear reactions. In the core matter is
in plasma state. Plasma consists high energy charged particles such as protons
electrons and ions. In the core, fusion reactions produce energy in the form of
gamma rays and neutrinos.

Radiation Zone:
Once energy is produced in the core of the Sun, this energy is transported to
the surrounding regions by means of radiation. Since the energy transporting
mechanism is radiation, layer surrounding core is known as the radiation zone.
In the radiation zone of the Sun the temperature is a little cooler than the core
and as a result some atoms in the radiation zone absorb energy from the core
and radiate it to outside regions.

Convection Zone:

Out of the radiation zone the mechanism adopted for the transportation of
energy is the convection, so layer outside radiation zone is known as convection
zone. Energy transporting mechanism which involves the movement of matter is
known as convection. In this zone the average temperature of matter is nearly 2
million Kelvin. The hotter material near the top of the radiation zone (the
bottom of the convection zone) rises up and the cooler material goes down to
the bottom. As the hot material reaches the top of the convection zone it begins
to cool and sink, and as it sinks it heats up again and will rise. This produces a
rolling motion much like that in a pot of boiling water.

Photosphere:

The exterior of the Sun is comprised of the surface and the atmosphere. The
photosphere is called the apparent surface of the Sun. Because the Sun is
completely made of gas there is no hard surface like there is on earth. The
photosphere is the disk you see in the sky when you look at the Sun through a
filtered telescope.

The continuous rising and falling of hot and cool bubbles produces a pattern on
the surface (photosphere) of the Sun that is referred to as granulation. Energy is
transported through the photosphere by radiation. Temperature of the
photosphere is about 5800 degrees Kelvin. In fact, most of the light that we
receive from the Sun on earth is energy that was released by atoms in the
photosphere. It takes light from the Sun just over eight minutes to reach the
earth.

Chromo sphere:

Layer of gas above the photosphere approximately 2000 km thick, known

as the chromo sphere or sphere of colour. In the chromosphere energy is
transported by radiation. Hydrogen atoms absorb energy from the photosphere
and most of the energy is then emitted as red light. The chromo sphere is most
easily viewed through a red light filter. Large convective cell patterns on the
chromosphere are known as super-granulation. Chromo sphere has very rough
outer layer which is constantly changing. The motion is much like flames
shooting up several thousands of kilometres and then falling again.

Transition region:

Above the chromosphere is a very thin layer of the Sun's atmosphere about
100 km thick over which the temperature rises drastically from 20,000 degrees
Kelvin in the upper chromosphere to over 2 million degrees Kelvin in the
corona. This region is called the transition region.

Corona:

The outermost layer of the Sun is called the corona. The corona stretches far out
into space and, in fact, particles from the corona reach the earth's orbit. The
shape of the corona is mostly determined by the magnetic field of the Sun. The
free electrons in the corona move along magnetic field lines and form many
different structures.
As particles follow the path created by the magnetic field they form
dynamic loops and arches that are most readily visible with special telescopes.
These structures are known as solar prominences. Particles from the corona also
stream out along the magnetic field lines of the Sun that extend into interstellar
space known as "solar wind", transports particles through space at 400
kilometres per second. When the solar wind reaches the earth atmosphere it will
produce a display of light known as the Aurora.
The corona emits energy of many different wavelengths, from long
wavelength radio waves, to short wavelength X-rays. The short wavelength X-
rays do not make it through the earth's atmosphere so X-ray images of the
corona must be taken above our atmosphere from telescopes in space.

Sunspot:
The continuously changing dark regions (or spots) in the photosphere are
called Sunspots. The photosphere has a temperature of about 5800 degrees
Kelvin and a typical Sunspot has a temperature about 3500 degrees Kelvin. The
inner part of a Sunspot is very dark and is called the umbra. The lighter region
surrounding the umbra is known as the penumbra. A Sunspot's life can be as
short as an hour or two or as long as several months. The number of Sunspots
that can be seen on the surface of the Sun increases and decreases in a regular
pattern, known as the solar cycle, with a maximum number of Sunspots
occurring every 11 years.

Sunspots are temporary phenomena on the photosphere of the Sun that appear as dark

spots compared to surrounding regions. They are areas of reduced surface temperature
caused by concentrations of magnetic field flux that inhibit convection. Sunspots usually
appear in pairs of opposite magnetic polarity.
Their number varies according to the approximately 11-year solar cycle. Individual sunspots may
endure anywhere from a few days to a few months, but eventually decay. Sunspots expand and
contract as they move across the surface of the Sun with sizes ranging from 16 kilometres
(10 mi) to 160,000 kilometres (100,000 mi) in diameter. The larger variety is visible from Earth
without the aid of a telescope. They may travel at relative speeds, or proper motions of a few
hundred meters per second when they first emerge.

Indicating intense magnetic activity, sunspots accompany secondary phenomena such

as coronal loops (prominences) and reconnection events. Most solar flares and coronal mass
ejections originate in magnetically active regions around visible sunspot groupings. Similar
phenomena indirectly observed on stars other than the sun are commonly called star spots and
both light and dark spots have been measured.
Note:

 Age of sun: 4.5 billion years

 Surface temperature (photosphere): 5800°C
 Size: One million Earths could fit inside the Sun
The Sun contains 99.86% of the mass in the Solar System
 Light from the Sun takes eight minutes to reach Earth
 The Sun is middle-aged:
At around 4.5 billion years old, the Sun has already burned off
about half of its store of Hydrogen. It has enough left to continue to burn
Hydrogen for approximately another 5 billion years. The Sun is currently
a type of star known as a Yellow Dwarf
 The Sun has a very strong magnetic field
Solar flares occur when magnetic energy is released by the Sun during
magnetic storms, which we see as sunspots. In sunspots, the magnetic
lines are twisted and they spin, much like a tornado would on Earth.
 The temperature inside the Sun can reach 15 million degrees Celsius:
At the Sun’s core, energy is generated by nuclear fusion, as Hydrogen
converts to Helium. Because hot objects generally expand, the Sun would
explode like a giant bomb if it weren’t for its enormous gravitational
force.
 The Sun generates solar wind:
This is a stream of charged particles, which travels through the Solar
System at approximately 450 kilometres per second. Solar wind occurs
where the magnetic field of the Sun extends into space instead of
following its surface.

Solar eclipse:
Solar eclipse is the phenomenon in which the Moon passes between the Sun
and the Earth, and the Moon fully or partially covers the Sun as viewed from a
location on Earth. This can happen only during a new moon. At least two, and
up to five, solar eclipses occur each year; no more than two can be total
eclipses.

If you want to see a solar eclipse, you must be in the path of the Moon's shadow,
which has 3 distinct parts:
 Umbra: The innermost and darkest part of the Moon's shadow. The Sun's
light is blocked in places on Earth where the umbra falls. The Sun's disc is not
visible anymore.
Penumbra: The outermost and the lightest part of the Moon's shadow. Only
part of the Sun's light is blocked in places on Earth where the Moon's
penumbra falls. The Sun's disc is partly visible.
Antumbra: The Moon's antumbra lies beyond the umbra. It appears with the
growing distance from the Moon. From Earth, the Moon appears smaller and
cannot completely block the Sun, so the Sun's outer rim is still seen.

There are four types of solar eclipses:

 Total eclipse: Eclipse in which Moon completely covers the intensely
bright light of the Sun, allowing only faint solar corona to be visible.

 Annular eclipse: Eclipse in which Sun and Moon are exactly in line, but
the apparent size of the Moon is smaller than that of the Sun. Hence the
Sun appears as a very bright ring, surrounding the outline of the Moon.

 Hybrid eclipse: hybrid eclipse (also called annular/total eclipse) shifts

between a total and annular eclipse. At some points on the surface of the
Earth it appears as a total eclipse, whereas at others it appears as annular.

 Partial eclipse: in this eclipse Sun and Moon are not exactly in line and
the Moon only partially obscures the Sun. This phenomenon can usually
be seen from a large part of the Earth outside of the track of an annular or
total eclipse.
 Total eclipse Partial eclipse Annular eclipse

Solar constant:
The solar constant, a measure of flux density, is the amount of incoming
solar electromagnetic radiation per unit area that would be incident on a plane
perpendicular to the rays, at a distance of one astronomical unit (AU) (roughly
the mean distance from the Sun to the Earth).
Solar constant, the total radiation energy received from the Sun per unit of
time per unit of area on a theoretical surface perpendicular to the Sun’s rays
and at Earth’s mean distance from the Sun. It is most accurately measured
from satellites where atmospheric effects are absent. The value of the constant is
approximately 1.366 kilowatts per square metre. The “constant” is fairly constant,
increasing by only 0.2 percent at the peak of each 11-year solar
cycle. Sunspots block out the light and reduce the emission by a few tenths of a
percent, but bright spots, called plages, that are associated with solar activity are
more extensive and longer lived, so their brightness compensates for the darkness
of the sunspots. Moreover, as the Sun burns up its hydrogen, the solar constant
increases by about 10 percent every billion years.

Planets
Mercury:
Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system. It takes almost 88 earth
days to complete one rotation around the sun. Among the planets Mercury has
the smallest axial tilt in its axis of rotation with respect to ecliptic plane. Its
great angular separation from the sun is 28.3 degrees; hence we can see
Mercury clearly in the early morning and evening time when Sun is below the
horizon. Also it is possible to see Mercury at the time of solar eclipse clearly.
 Mercury has a highly eccentric orbit. Mercury has no satellite. Has no
atmosphere. Surface temperature of Mercury ranges from 90 to 700K. First
space craft mission to mercury was Mariner 10 in 1974. Mercury consists a rock
body like earth with 70% metallic and 30% silicate material. Density of
Mercury is the second highest in the solar system. Its orbit is at a distance of
0.38 AU away from the Sun.
Diameter: 4879.4. km
Mass : 3.3 x 1023 kg

Venus:

Venus is the second planet from the Sun and the sixth largest. Venus' orbit is the
most nearly circular of that of any planet orbit : 108,200,000 km (0.72 AU)
from Sun
Diameter: 12,103.6 km
Mass : 4.868x1024 kg

It is the brightest object in the sky except for the Sun and the Moon. The first
spacecraft to visit Venus was Mariner 2 in 1962. Venus takes almost 224.7 earth
days to complete one rotation around the sun. Its greatest angular separation
from sun is 47.8 degree.
Venus is sometimes regarded as Earth's sister planet. In some ways they are very
similar:
Venus is only slightly smaller than Earth (95% of Earth's diameter, 80% of
Earth's mass).
1) Both have few craters indicating relatively young surfaces.
2) Their densities and chemical compositions are similar.

The pressure of Venus' atmosphere at the surface is 90 times that in earth’s

surface (90 atmosphere). It is composed mostly of carbon dioxide. There are
several layers of clouds many kilometres thick composed of sulphuric acid.
These clouds completely obscure our view of the surface. This dense
atmosphere produces a run-away greenhouse effect that raises Venus' surface
temperature by about 400 to over 740 K (hot enough to melt lead).
Venus is now quite dry. Most of Venus' surface consists of gently rolling plains
with little relief. There are also several broad depressions: Atalanta Planitia,
Guinevere Planitia, Lavinia Planitia. There two large highland areas: Ishtar
Terra in the northern hemisphere (about the size of Australia) and Aphrodite
Terra along the equator (about the size of South America).
Surface of Venus is covered by lava flows. There are several large shield
volcanoes. Recently announced findings indicate that Venus is still volcanically
active, but only in a few hot spots; for the most part it has been geologically
rather quiet for the past few hundred million years.
The interior of Venus is probably very similar to that of Earth: an iron core
about 3000 km in radius, a molten rocky mantle comprising the majority of the
planet. Venus has no magnetic field, perhaps because of its slow rotation. Venus
has no satellites. Venus is usually visible with the unaided eye.
On June 8 2004 and in 2012 Venus passed directly between the Earth and the
Sun, appearing as a large black dot travelling across the Sun's disk. This event is
known as a "transit of Venus" and is very rare: the last one was in 1882, to see
the next one you'll have to wait until 2117.
Earth:

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the fifth largest:
orbit: 149,600,000 km (1.00 AU) from Sun
diameter: 12,756.3 km
mass:   5.9736 x 1024 kg

The Earth is divided into several layers which have distinct chemical and
seismic properties. That are given as Crust, Upper mantle, Transition region,
Lower mantle, D'' layer, Outer core, Inner core

The crust varies considerably in thickness; it is thinner under the oceans, thicker
under the continents. The inner core and crust are solid; the outer core and
mantle layers are plastic or semi-fluid. The various layers are separated by
discontinuities which are evident in seismic data. Most of the mass of the Earth
is in the mantle, most of the rest in the core
The core is probably composed mostly of iron (or nickel/iron) though it is
possible that some lighter elements may be present, too. Temperatures at the
centre of the core may be as high as 7500 K, hotter than the surface of the Sun.
The lower mantle is probably mostly silicon, magnesium and oxygen with some
iron, calcium and aluminium. The upper mantle is mostly olivine and pyroxene
(iron/magnesium silicates), calcium and aluminium.
The Earth is the densest major body in the solar system. Unlike the other
terrestrial planets, Earth's crust is divided into several separate solid plates
which float around independently on top of the hot mantle below. The theory
that describes this is known as plate tectonics. There are (at present) eight major
plates:
 North American Plate - North America, western North Atlantic and
Greenland
 South American Plate - South America and western South Atlantic
  Antarctic Plate - Antarctica and the "Southern Ocean"
 Eurasian Plate - eastern North Atlantic, Europe and Asia except for India
 African Plate - Africa, eastern South Atlantic and western Indian Ocean
 Indian-Australian Plate - India, Australia, New Zealand and most of
Indian Ocean
 Nazca Plate - eastern Pacific Ocean adjacent to South America
 Pacific Plate - most of the Pacific Ocean (and the southern coast of
California!)
The Earth's surface is very young. The Earth is 4.5 to 4.6 billion years old.
The oldest fossils of living organisms are less than 3.9 billion years old. There is
no record of the critical period when life was first getting started.
71 Percent of the Earth's surface is covered with water. Earth is the only planet
on which water can exist in liquid form on the surface. Liquid water is, of
course, essential for life as we know it. The Earth's atmosphere is 77% nitrogen,
21% oxygen, with traces of argon, carbon dioxide and water. The tiny amount
of carbon dioxide resident in the atmosphere at any time is extremely important
to the maintenance of the Earth's surface temperature via the greenhouse effect.
The greenhouse effect raises the average surface temperature about 35 degrees
C .Earth has only one natural satellite, the Moon. But thousands of small
artificial satellites have also been placed in orbit around the Earth.
Mars:
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the seventh largest:
orbit: 227,940,000 km (1.52 AU) from Sun
diameter: 6,794 km
mass: 6.4169 x 1023 kg

The first spacecraft to visit Mars was Mariner 4 in 1965. In 2008, Phoenix
landed in the northern plains to search for water. Mars' orbit is significantly
elliptical. One result of this is a temperature variation of about 30 C at the sub
solar point between aphelion and perihelion. This has a major influence on Mars
climate. While the average temperature on Mars is about 218 K (-55 C, -67 F).
Mars has some of the most highly varied and interesting terrain of any of the
terrestrial planets, some of it quite spectacular:
 Olympus Mons: the largest mountain in the Solar System rising 24 km above
the surrounding plain.
 Tharsis: a huge bulge on the surface of Mars that is about 4000 km across and
10 km high.
 Valles Marineris: a system of canyons 4000 km long and from 2 to 7 km deep
(top of page);
 Hellas Planitia: an impact crater in the southern hemisphere over 6 km deep and
2000 km in diameter.
Much of the Martian surface is very old and cratered, but there are also much
younger rift valleys, ridges, hills and plains.
Mars has a dense core about 1700 km in radius, a molten rocky mantle
somewhat denser than the Earth's and a thin crust. Mars' crust is about 80 km
thick in the southern hemisphere but only about 35 km thick in the north. Mars'
relatively low density compared to the other terrestrial planets.
Mars has a very thin atmosphere composed mostly of the tiny amount of
remaining carbon dioxide (95.3%) plus nitrogen (2.7%), argon (1.6%) and
traces of oxygen (0.15%) and water (0.03%). The average pressure on the
surface of Mars is only about 7 mill bars (less than 1% of Earth's).
A small number of meteorites (the SNC meteorites) are believed to have
originated on Mars. Large, but not global, weak magnetic fields exist in various
regions of Mars.
When it is in the nighttimes sky, Mars is easily visible with the naked eye. Its
apparent size and brightness varies greatly according to its relative position to
the Earth. Mars has two tiny satellites which orbit very close to the Martian
surface: Phobos and Deimos

Jupiter:

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and by far the largest. Jupiter is more
than twice as massive as all the other planets combined (the mass of Jupiter is
318 times that of Earth).
orbit: 778,330,000 km (5.20 AU) from Sun
diameter: 142,984 km (equatorial)
mass: 1.9 x 1027 kg.

Jupiter is the fourth brightest object in the sky (after the Sun, the Moon and
Venus). But in 1610 when Galileo first pointed a telescope at the sky he
discovered Jupiter's four large moons Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
Jupiter was first visited by Pioneer 10 in 1973 and later by Pioneer 11. The gas
planets do not have solid surfaces. Jupiter is about 90% hydrogen and 10%
helium with traces of methane, water, ammonia and "rock".
Jupiter probably has a core of rocky material. Above the core lies the main
bulk of the planet in the form of liquid metallic hydrogen. Liquid metallic
hydrogen consists of ionized protons and electrons (like the interior of the Sun
but at a far lower temperature). At the temperature and pressure of Jupiter's
interior hydrogen is a liquid, not a gas. It is an electrical conductor and the
source of Jupiter's magnetic field.
 The outermost layer is composed primarily of ordinary molecular hydrogen
and helium which is liquid in the interior and gaseous further out. The
atmosphere we see is just the very top of this deep layer. Water, carbon dioxide,
methane and other simple molecules are also present in tiny amounts. One of
the most recognizable features on Jupiter is the Great Red Spot. This is a huge,
high storm that has been swirling around Jupiter for hundreds of years. It’s
easily visible from telescopes here on Earth,
Jupiter radiates more energy into space than it receives from the Sun. The
interior of Jupiter is hot: the core is probably about 20,000 K. Jupiter is just
about as large in diameter as a gas planet can be. Jupiter has a huge magnetic
field, much stronger than Earth's. Jupiter has rings like Saturn's, but much
fainter and smaller (right). Unlike Saturn's, Jupiter's rings are dark. They're
probably composed of very small grains of rocky material. Unlike Saturn's
rings, they seem to contain no ice. When it is in the nighttimes sky, Jupiter is
often the brightest "star" in the sky (it is second only to Venus, which is seldom
visible in a dark sky). The four Galilean moons are easily visible with
binoculars; a few bands and the Great Red Spot can be seen with a small
astronomical telescope. Jupiter has 63 known satellites (as of Feb 2004): the
four large Galilean moons plus many more small ones some of which have not
yet been named.
Saturn:
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest:
orbit: 1,429,400,000 km (9.54 AU) from Sun
diameter: 120,536 km (equatorial)
mass: 5.68 × 1026 kg

Galileo was the first to observe it with a telescope in 1610. Saturn was first
visited by NASA's Pioneer 11 in 1979 and later by Voyager 1 and Voyager 2.
Cassini (a joint NASA / ESA project) arrived on July 1, 2004 and orbited Saturn
for at least four years.
Saturn is visibly flattened (oblate) when viewed through a small telescope; its
equatorial and polar diameters vary by almost 10% (120,536 km vs. 108,728
km). This is the result of its rapid rotation and fluid state. Saturn is the least
dense of the planets. Like Jupiter, Saturn is about 75% hydrogen and 25%
helium with traces of water, methane, ammonia and "rock”. Saturn’s interior is
similar to Jupiter's consisting of a rocky core, a liquid metallic hydrogen layer
and a molecular hydrogen layer. Saturn's interior is hot (12000 K at the core)
and Saturn radiates more energy into space than it receives from the Sun.
Two prominent rings (A and B) and one faint ring (C) can be seen from the
Earth. The gap between the A and B rings is known as the Cassini division. The
much fainter gap in the outer part of the A ring is known as the Encke Division .
Saturn's outermost ring, the F-ring, is a complex structure made up of several
smaller rings along which "knots" are visible. The Voyager pictures show four
additional faint rings. Saturn's rings, unlike the rings of the other planets, are
very bright.
Though they look continuous from the Earth, the rings are actually composed
of innumerable small particles each in an independent orbit. They range in size
from a centimetre or so to several meters. A few kilometre-sized objects are also
likely. The ring particles seem to be composed primarily of water ice, but they
may also include rocky particles with icy coatings.
Saturn has a significant magnetic field. When it is in the night time sky,
Saturn is easily visible to the unaided eye. Though it is not nearly as bright as
Jupiter, it is easy to identify as a planet because it doesn't "twinkle" like the stars
do. The rings and the larger satellites are visible with a small astronomical
telescope.
Saturn has 53 named satellites (as of spring 2010):
 The three pairs of important natural satellites of Saturn are Mimas-Tethys,
Enceladus-Dione and Titan-Hyperion, they interact gravitationally in such
a way as to maintain stable relationships between their orbits.

Uranus:
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and the third largest (by diameter).
Uranus is larger in diameter but smaller in mass than Neptune.
orbit: 2,870,990,000 km (19.218 AU) from Sun
diameter: 51,118 km (equatorial)
mass: 8.68 x 1025 kg.

Uranus, the first planet discovered in modern times, was discovered by William
Herschel in 1781. Uranus has been visited by only one spacecraft, Voyager 2 on
Jan 24 1986. Most of the planets spin on an axis nearly perpendicular to the
plane of the ecliptic but Uranus' axis is almost parallel to the ecliptic.
Uranus is composed primarily of rock and various ices (ices:used by
planetary scientists to refer to water, methane, and ammonia which usually
occur as solids in the outer solar system), with only about 15% hydrogen and a
little helium (in contrast to Jupiter and Saturn which are mostly hydrogen).
Uranus (and Neptune) are in many ways similar to the cores of Jupiter and
Saturn minus the massive liquid metallic hydrogen envelope. It appears that
Uranus does not have a rocky core like Jupiter and Saturn but rather that its
material is more or less uniformly distributed.
Uranus' atmosphere is about 83% hydrogen, 15% helium and 2% methane. Like
the other gas planets, Uranus has bands of clouds that blow around rapidly.
Uranus' blue colour is the result of absorption of red light by methane in the
upper atmosphere.
Like the other gas planets, Uranus has rings. Like Jupiter's, they are very dark
but like Saturn's they are composed of fairly large particles ranging up to 10
meters in diameter in addition to fine dust. There are 13 known rings, all very
faint; the brightest is known as the Epsilon ring.
Uranus' magnetic field is odd in that it is not centered on the centre of the planet
and is tilted almost 60 degrees with respect to the axis of rotation. Uranus is
sometimes just barely visible with the unaided eye on a very clear night; it is
fairly easy to spot with binoculars (if you know exactly where to look). A small
astronomical telescope will show a small disk.
Uranus' Satellites: Uranus has 27 named moons:

Neptune:

Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the fourth largest (by diameter).
Neptune is smaller in diameter but larger in mass than Uranus.
orbit: 4,504,000,000 km (30.06 AU) from Sun
diameter: 49,532 km (equatorial)
mass: 1.02x1026 kg

Neptune was first observed by Galle and d'Arrest on 1846 Sept 23. Neptune's
composition is probably similar to Uranus': various "ices" and rock with about
15% hydrogen and a little helium. But there is most likely a small core (about
the mass of the Earth) of rocky material. Its atmosphere is mostly hydrogen and
helium with a small amount of methane.
Neptune's blue colour is largely the result of absorption of red light by methane
in the atmosphere. Like a typical gas planet, Neptune has rapid winds on its
surface. Neptune's winds are the fastest in the solar system, reaching 2000
km/hour. Like Jupiter and Saturn, Neptune has an internal heat source -- it
radiates more than twice as much energy as it receives from the Sun.
Neptune's most prominent feature was the Great Dark Spot (left) in the
southern hemisphere. It was about half the size as Jupiter's Great Red Spot
(about the same diameter as Earth). However, HST observations of Neptune
(left) in 1994 show that the Great Dark Spot has disappeared.
Neptune also has rings. Like Uranus and Jupiter, Neptune's rings are very dark
but their composition is unknown. Neptune's also has a magnetic field
associated with it. Neptune can be seen with binoculars (if you know exactly
where to look) but a large telescope is needed to see anything other than a tiny
disk. Neptune has 13 known moons; 7 small named ones and Triton plus four
discovered in 2002 and one discovered in 2003.

Comet
A comet is an icy, small solar system body which, when close enough to the
Sun, displays a visible coma ((in astronomy, a coma is the nebulous (cloudy
like) envelope around the nucleus of a comet) and sometimes also a tail (comets
are distinguished from asteroids by the presence of a coma or a tail. It is formed
when the comet passes close to the Sun its highly elliptical orbit; as the comet
warms, parts of it evaporate). These phenomena are both due to the effects of
solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet. Comets have
irregular shapes

Comets nuclei are known to range from about 100 meters to more than 40
kilometres across. They are composed of rock, dust, water ice, and frozen gases
such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane and ammonia. Comets also
contain a variety of organic compounds.
Most comets have elongated elliptical orbit that take them close to the Sun for a
part of their orbit, and then out into the further reaches of the Solar System for
the remainder. Comets are often classified according to the length of their
orbital periods: the longer the period the more elongated the ellipse.

1) Short – period comets are generally defined as having orbital periods of less
than 200 years. Their orbits typically take them out to the region of the outer
planets (Jupiter and beyond) at aphelion; for example, the aphelion of Halley's
Comet is a little beyond the orbit of Neptune.
Short-period comets originate in the Kuiper belt, (The Kuiper belt: is a region
of the Solar system beyond the planets extending from the orbit of Neptune (at
30 AU) to approximately 55 AU from the Sun. the Kuiper objects are composed
largely of frozen volatiles (termed "ices"), such as methane, ammonia and
water).

2) Long-period comets have highly eccentric orbits and periods ranging from
200 years to thousands or even millions of years. Example: Comet McNaught.
Longer-period comets are thought to originate in the Oort cloud, a spherical
cloud of icy bodies in the outer Solar System a hypothesized spherical cloud of
comet which may lie roughly 50,000 AU, or nearly a light-year, from the sun.

3) Single-apparition comets are similar to long-period comets since they also

have different path compared to the other types. Single-apparition or non-
periodic comets are similar to long-period comets because they also have
parabolic or slightly hyperbolic trajectories when near perihelion in the inner
Solar System. However, gravitational perturbations from giant planets cause
their orbits to change. Single-apparition or comets are those with a hyperbolic
or parabolic osculating, which makes them permanently exit the Solar System
after a single pass of the Sun

After Edmund Halley demonstrated that the comets of 1531, 1607, and
1682 were the same body and successfully predicted its return in 1759, that
comet became known as Halley's Comet. Some other comets are Encke's Comet
and Biela's comets.
As of January 2011 there are a reported 4,185 known comets of which about
1,500 are Long-period and about 484 are short-period. This number is steadily
increasing

Asteroid:
Asteroids are a class of small solar system bodies in orbit around the Sun.
They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones. Thus the term
asteroid has come to refer specifically to the small rocky–icy and metallic
bodies of the inner Solar System distributed up to the orbit of Jupiter. A large
majority of known asteroids orbit in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of
Mars and Jupiter or co-orbital with Jupiter. This belt is now estimated to contain
between 1.1 and 1.9 million asteroids larger than 1km in diameter and millions
of smaller ones. Individual asteroids are classified by their characteristic
spectra, with the majority falling into three main groups: C-type, S-type and M-
type. These were named after and are generally identified with carbon-rich,
stony, and metallic compositions, respectively. Near-Earth asteroids, or NEA's,
are asteroids that have orbits that pass close to that of Earth.

Physical composition: The physical composition of asteroids is varied and in

most cases poorly understood. Asteroid Ceres appears to be composed of a
rocky core covered by an icy mantle, where Asteroid Vesta is thought to have a
nickel-iron core.
Size: Objects in the main asteroid belt vary greatly in size, from almost 1000
kilometres for the largest down to rocks just tens of metres across. The vast
majority, however, are much smaller and are irregularly shaped.

Meteoroid:
Small sand like particles to the rocky objects in the solar system formed by
the scattering of different celestial objects is called Meteoroid. The visible path
of a meteoroid that enters Earth's (or another body's) atmosphere is called a
meteor, or a shooting star or falling star. If a meteoroid reaches the ground and
survives impact, then it is called a meteorite. Many meteors appearing seconds
or minutes apart are called a meteor shower.

A meteor is the visible path of a meteoroid that has entered the Earth's
atmosphere. Meteors typically occur in the mesosphere (third layer of earth
atmosphere after troposphere and stratosphere), and most range in altitude from
75 km to 100 km. Millions of meteors occur in the Earth's atmosphere every
day. Most meteoroids that cause meteors are about the size of a pebble. They
become visible between about 40 and 75 miles (65 and 120 kilometres) above
the Earth. They disintegrate at altitudes of 30 to 60 miles (50 to 95 kilometres).
Most meteors are, however, observed at night as low light conditions allow
fainter meteors to be observed. Most meteoroids burn up when they enter the
atmosphere. The remaining parts of a meteoroid after the burning in the
atmosphere are called meteoric dust. Meteor dust particles can persist in the
atmosphere for up to several months.
During the entry of a meteoroid or asteroid into the upper atmosphere, an
ionization trail is created, where the molecules in the upper atmosphere are
ionized by the passage of the meteor. Such ionization trails can last up to 45
minutes at a time
The visible light produced by a meteor may take on various hues, depending on
the chemical composition of the meteoroid, and its speed through the
atmosphere
Any sound generated by a meteor in the upper atmosphere should not be heard
until many seconds after the meteor disappeared. However, in certain instances,
for example during the Leonid meteor shower of 2001, several people reported
sounds described as "crackling", "swishing", or "hissing" occurring at the same
instant as a meteor flare.

Meteors
A meteor is the visible path of a meteoroid that enters the Earth's (or
another body's) atmosphere, commonly called a shooting star or falling
star.
A meteor is a meteoroid that has entered the earth's atmosphere.
It will then become brightly visible due to the heat produced by the ram
pressure.
If a meteor survives its transit of the atmosphere to come to rest on the Earth's
surface, the resulting object is called a meteorite.
A meteor striking the Earth or other object may produce an impact crater.
During the entry of a meteoroid into the upper atmosphere, an ionization trail is
created, where the molecules in the upper atmosphere are ionized by the
passage of the meteor.
Such ionization trails can last up to 45 minutes at a time.
Small, sand-grain sized meteoroids are entering the atmosphere constantly,
essentially every few seconds in a given region, and thus ionization trails can be
found in the upper atmosphere more or less continuously.

TABLE OF PLANETARY STATISTICS

Below is a table of statistics about the solar system's eight planets and five
dwarf planets.
REGULAR PLANETS

Time to
Time to Gravity Number of
Name of Average Distance Spin on Average Contents of Year of
Diameter Orbit Sun(a (Earth = Known
Planet fromSun Axis (a Temperature Atmosphere Discovery
year) 1) Moons
day)
-183 °C to
57,900,000 4,878
427 °C
Mercury km(36,000,000 km(3,031 59 days 88 days 0.38 Sodium, helium n/a None
(-297 °F to
miles) miles)
800 °F)
108,160,000 12,104 Carbon Dioxide
480 °C 
Venus km(67,000,000 km(7,521 243 days 224 days 0.9 (96%), Nitrogen n/a None
(896 °F)
miles) miles) (3.5%)
149,600,000 12,756 23
14 °C  Nitrogen (77%),
Earth km(92,960,000 km(7,926 hours, 365.25 days 1 n/a 1
(57 °F) Oxygen (21%)
miles) miles) 56 mins
227,936,640 6,794 24 Carbon
-63 °C 
Mars km(141,700,000 km(4,222 hours, 687 days 0.38 Dioxide(95.3%), n/a 2
(-81 °F)
miles) miles) 37 mins Argon
778,369,000 142,984
9 hours, -130 °C 
Jupiter km(483,500,000 km(88,846 11.86 years 2.64 Hydrogen, Helium n/a 66
55 mins (-202 °F)
miles) miles)
1,427,034,000 120,536 10
-130 °C 
Saturn km(888,750,000 km(74,900 hours, 29 years 1.16 Hydrogen, Helium n/a 62
(-202 °F)
miles) miles) 39 mins
2,870,658,186 51,118 17
-200 °C  Hydrogen, Helium,
Uranus km(1,783,744,300 km(31,763 hours, 84 years 1.11 1781 27
(-328 °F) Methane
miles) miles) 14 mins
4,496,976,000 49,532 16
-200 °C  Hydrogen, Helium,
Neptune km(2,797,770,000 km(30,779 hours, 7 164.8 years 1.21 1846 13
(-328 °F) Methane
miles) miles) mins

DWARF PLANETS

Time to Spin Time to Number of

Name of Average Year of
Average Distance from Sun Diameter on Axis (a Orbit Sun (a Known
Dwarf Planet Temperature Discovery
day) year) Moons
413,900,000 950 km 9 hours, 5 4 years, 220 -106 °C
Ceres 1801 None
km (257,031,000 miles) (590 miles) minutes days (-159 °F)
4,436,820,000 to 
7,375,930,000 2,370 km  6 days, 9 -228 °C
Pluto 248 years n/a 5
km(2,756,902,000 to (1473 miles) hours (-378 °F)
4,583,190,000 miles)
Haumea 5,260,000,000 to 1960 x 1518 x 4 hours 285 years -240 °C 2004 2
7,708,000,000 996 km  (-400 °F)
 km(3,268,000,000 to (1218 x 943 x
4,789,000,000 miles) 619 miles)
5,760,800,000 to Between 1300
7.939,700,000 and 1900 km  7 hours, 46 -243 °C
Makemake 309 years 2005 None
km(3,579,000,000 to (808 to  minutes (-405 °F)
4,933,000,000 miles) 1180 miles)
5,665,500,000 to
2,326
14,634,000,000 -248 to -232 °C
Eris km(1,445 8 hours 557 years 2005 1
km3,518,000,000 to -414 to -386 °F
miles)
9,088,000,000 miles

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

DISTANCE FROM THE SUN:

The distance from the Sun given in the above table is the average distance the
planet is away from the Sun. The planets don't orbit in completely circular orbits but
in most cases, the difference between the planet's closest distance from
the Sun doesn't vary greatly from its furthest point. Where the orbits are more
elliptical than circular (where the planet's closest distance from the Sun varies greatly
from its furthest point) the range is given.

DIAMETER:
The diameters of Jupiter and Saturn are wider across the equator (the values given
in the table) than they are from their North to their South Poles. This is because of
their fast rotational speeds which "squash" the planets. Dwarf Planet Haumea has an
elongated shape so its dimensions rather than average diameter is given.

TIME TO SPIN ON AXIS:

This is the length of time it takes for the planet to complete one full rotation. This is
measured in Earth time. For example, in the case of Mercury, it takes the planet 59
Earth days to spin on its axis. 

TIME TO ORBIT SUN:

This is the length of time it takes for the planet to complete one full journey around
the Sun. This is measured in Earth time. For example, in the case of Mars, it takes
the planet 687 Earth days to orbit the Sun.

GRAVITY:
To work out your weight on another planet, multiply your weight by the number given
in this column. Or use this handy calculator!

AVERAGE TEMPERATURE:
The average temperatures for the rocky Inner
Planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars) and the Dwarf
Planets (Ceres, Pluto and Eris) are the temperatures at the surface. The average
temperatures for the Outer Planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) are the
temperatures at the tops of the planets' clouds. These gas planets will be hotter
towards their - possibly solid - cores, generating their own heat sources, giving off
more heat than they actually receive from the Sun. Where there is a large difference
between the maximum and the minimum temperature on a planet, the full
temperature range is given.

CONTENTS OF ATMOSPHERE:
Mercury is too small to actually possess a "sky-like" atmosphere. The gases listed in
the table for Mercury are gases that surround the planets.

YEAR OF DISCOVERY:
The planets Mercury to Saturn were observed thousands of years ago and therefore
don't have a date of discovery since there is nobody credited with being the first
person to spot them. Uranus was the first planet to be discovered. It may possibly
have been seen before its official date of discovery, but it would not have been
recognised as a planet.

KNOWN MOONS:
Moons are constantly being discovered orbiting planets. The number of moons listed
are the number confirmed when this page was updated (July 2015).

Size of Planets Table

Planet Diameter Diameter of Model
Mercury 4,900 km 5 mm
Venus 12,100 km 12 mm
Earth 12,800 km 13 mm
Mars 6,800 km 7 mm
Jupiter 143,000 km 143 mm
Saturn 125,000 km 121 mm
Uranus 51,100 km 51 mm
Neptune 49,500 km 50 mm
Pluto 2,300 km 2 mm

Period of planets

A year is defined as the time it takes a planet to complete one revolution of the Sun,
for Earth this is just over 365 days. This is also known as the orbital period.
Unsurprisingly the the length of each planet’s year correlates with its distance from
the Sun as seen in the graph above. The precise amount of time in Earth days it
takes for each planet to complete its orbit can be seen below.

Mercury: 87.97 days (0.2 years)

Venus :224.70 days (0.6 years)
Earth: 365.26 days(1 year)
Mars: 686.98 days(1.9 years)
Jupiter: 4,332.82 days (11.9 years)
Saturn: 10,755.70 days (29.5 years)
Uranus: 30,687.15 days (84 years)
Neptune: 60,190.03 days (164.8 years)

Orbital Rotation Rotations Days Day

Object
Period Period Per Year Per Year Length
58.6467
175.940
days
days
- 243.02
- 116.75
days
days
23 hr 56
24 hr 0 min
87.970 days min 4.1 sec
Mercury 1.500000 0.500000 0 sec
224.70 days 27.322
Venus - 0.92462 - 1.92462 29.53 days
365.256* days
Earth 366.256 365.256 24 hr 39
days 24 hr 37
Moon 13.369 12.369 min
365.256 days min
Mars 669.5994 668.5994 35.24 sec
686.980 days 22.66 sec
Jupiter 10476.8 10475.8 9 hr 55 min
4332.59 days 9 hr 55 min
Saturn 24492.07 24491.07 33 sec
10759.22 days 30 sec
Uranus - 42717 - 42718 10 hr 32
30685.4 days 10 hr 32
Neptune 89667 89666 min 36 sec
60189 days min 35 sec
Pluto - 14163.4 - 14164.4 - 17 hr 14
90465 days - 17 hr 14
min 23 sec
min 24 sec
16 hr 6.6
16 hr 6.6
min
min
- 6 days 9
- 6 days 9
hr 17.0 min
hr 17.6 min

* The length of the Earth's orbital period, although called a "year" in the discussion,
is not the same as the calendar (ortropical) year, which is about 20 minutes shorter
than the orbital period due to the precession of the Equinoxes, and is about 365.244
days.

Planetary Data Distance Table

Planet Distance  Diameter

(from Sun)
Mercury 57,910,000 km 4,800 km
0.387 A.U.
 Venus 108,200,000 km 12,100 km
0.723 A.U.
Earth 149,600,000 km 12,750 km
1.000 A.U.
Mars 227,940,000 km 6,800 km
1.524 A.U.
Jupiter 778,330,000 km 142,800 km
5.203 A.U.
Saturn 1,424,600,000 km 120,660 km
9.523 A.U.
Uranus 2,873,550,000 km 51,800 km
19.208 A.U.
Neptune 4,501,000,000 km 49,500 km
30.087 A.U.
Pluto 5,945,900,000 km 3,300 km
39.746 A.U.

Atmosphere of planets

An atmosphere is the layer of gases that envelop a planet. On the Earth, it

is this envelope that allows organisms to live. Atmospheric ozone protects
us from ultraviolet radiation. CO2 and other gases trap heat and keep the
surface warm enough for life to thrive. Oxygen has allowed life to evolve.

Each of the planets has a different atmosphere, although there are clear
similarities between the atmospheres of the four terrestrial planets and the
four gas giant planets. The terrestrial planets are rich in heavier gases and
gaseous compounds, such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen, ozone,
and argon. In contrast, the gas giant atmospheres are composed mostly of
hydrogen and helium.

The atmospheres of at least the inner planets have evolved since they
formed. This is clearest for the Earth. The Earth’s original atmosphere was
probably similar to Venus in composition, consisting of carbon dioxide and
nitrogen. The evolution of photosynthesis converted carbon dioxide in the
Earth’s atmosphere to oxygen, increasing the amount of O2 in it from an
initial 0.01% to its current 22% level.

Here is basic information on the atmosphere of each planet to guide your

Post Lab discussion. Mercury has a very thin, almost undetectable
atmosphere composed of sodium and potassium gas. These elements
were likely blown from the surface of Mercury by the solar wind.
The atmosphere of Venus is composed mainly of carbon dioxide with
minor amounts of nitrogen and trace amounts of nitrogen, helium, neon,
and argon.

The Earth's atmosphere primarily composed of nitrogen and oxygen. Minor

gases include and carbon dioxide, ozone, argon, and helium.

Mars' atmosphere is a thin layer composed mainly of carbon dioxide.

Nitrogen, argon, and small traces of oxygen and water vapor are also
present.

Jupiter's atmosphere contains mainly helium and hydrogen with trace

amounts of water, ammonia, methane, and other carbon compounds.
Three layers of clouds may exist in Jupiter’s outermost atmosphere. The
lowest are made of water ice or droplets, the next are crystals of a
compound of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, and the highest clouds are
ammonia ice. There seems to be no solid surface under the atmosphere,
only a transition from gas to liquid metallic hydrogen. In the top one-fourth
of the planet, the pressure and temperature are so high that the hydrogen
atoms are stripped of their outer electrons, forming a liquid metal.

Like Jupiter, Saturn has a thick atmosphere composed of hydrogen and

helium. The ratio of hydrogen to helium ratio decreases with depth.
Methane and ammonia are also present. The atmosphere of Saturn
envelops a thick layer of metallic hydrogen.

Uranus' atmosphere is composed mainly of hydrogen and minor amounts

of helium Methane is present in minor amounts, and probably forms most
of the clouds seen by space probes and telescopes. Uranus and Neptune
both appear blue because methane strongly absorbs light of other
wavelengths.

The atmosphere of Neptune consists mainly of hydrogen and helium, but

about 2.5-3% of the atmosphere is methane. Like Uranus, clouds in
Neptune's atmosphere are composed of crystals of methane.

Pluto's atmosphere seems to be very thin, and is likely composed of

nitrogen and carbon dioxide.

Note that none of the other planets or moons in the Solar System have
atmospheres similar to the Earth. This means that if humans travel to other
bodies, they will have to bring their own atmosphere in order to survive.
Planetary surface
A planetary surface is where the solid (or liquid) material of the outer crust on
certain types of astronomical objects contacts the atmosphere or outer space;
planetary surfaces are found on solid objects of planetary mass (PMO)s,
including terrestrial planets, dwarf planets, natural satellites, planetesimals and
many other Small Solar System bodies (SSSB)s. The study of planetary surfaces
is a field of planetary geology known as surface geology but also a focus of a
number of fields including planetary cartography, topography,
geomorphology, atmospheric sciences and astronomy. Land (or ground) is the
term given to non-liquid planetary surfaces. The term "landing" is used to
describe the collision of an object with a planetary surface and is usually at a
velocity in which the object can remain intact and remain attached.
In differentiated bodies, the surface is where the crust meets the planetary
boundary layer. Anything below this is regarded as being sub-surface or sub-
marine. Most bodies more massive than Super-Earths, including stars and gas
giants, as well as smaller gas dwarfs, transition contiguously between phases
including gas, liquid and solids. As such they are generally regarded as lacking
surfaces.
Planetary surfaces and surface life are of particular interest to humans as it the
primary habitat of the species, which has evolved to move over
land and breathe air. Human space exploration and space colonization therefore
focuses heavily on them. Humans have only directly explored the surface of the
Earth and Moon. The vast distances of space and the complexities make direct
exploration of even Near-Earth objects dangerous and expensive. As such, all
other exploration has been indirect via Space probes.
List of common surface materials
The following is a non-exhaustive list of surface materials that occur on more
than one planetary surface along with their locations in order of distance from
the Sun. Some have been detected by spectroscopy or direct imaging from orbit
or flyby.

 Ice - Mercury (polar); Earth-Moon system; Mars (polar); Ceres and some

asteroids such as 24 Themis; Jupiter moons - Europa,
Ganymede and Callisto; Triton,; Saturn moons -
Titan, Enceladus and Miranda; Uranus moons - Umbriel, Oberon; Kuiper
belt objects including Pluto-Charon system, Haumea, 28978 Ixion, 90482
Orcus, 50000 Quaoar
 Silicate rock - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars,
asteroids, Ganymede, Callisto, Moon, Triton
 Regolith - Mercury; Venus, Earth-Moon system; Mars (and its
moons Phobos and Deimos); asteroids (including 4 Vesta); Titan
 Methane clathrate - Oberon, Titania, Umbriel, Pluto, 90482 Orcus
 Tholins - many Trans Neptunian Objects including Titan,
Triton, Eris, Sedna, 28978 Ixion, 90482 Orcus
 Nitrogen ice - Pluto-Charon, Triton, Kuiper belt objects, Plutinos
 Sulphur - Mercury; Earth; Mars; Jupiter moons - Io and Europa
 Dry ice - Mars (polar), Umbriel
 Sand - Earth, Mars, Titan
 Clays - Earth, Mars, Ceres Europa
 Water - Earth
 Liquid Hydrocarbons - Titan

Comparison of planets

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. It orbits the Sun quickly, once
every 88 days. It rotates slowly, however, only once every 59 days.
Mercury is small, about 4850 kilometers (~3000 miles) in diameter.
Because Mercury is so close to the Sun, the side of its surface that faces
the Sun is very hot, ~800oK. The surface of Mercury is gray to orange in
colour, and is covered with craters. Mercury is named for a mythical god
who ran very fast.

Venus, the second planet away from the Sun, is Earth’s closest neighbour.
It is about the same size as the Earth, a little over 12,000 kilometers (7300
miles) in diameter. Venus has a very thick atmosphere, composed largely
of sulphuric acid and CO2. We could not breathe on Venus, because the
atmosphere would be very toxic to humans. This atmosphere gives Venus
a brownish-yellow colour. It also traps heat (the greenhouse effect) making
the surface of Venus the hottest in the Solar System, about 900oK. Venus
rotates very slowly, taking 243 days to complete one turn. It is named for
the Roman goddess of love.

Earth is a little more than 12,000 kilometers in diameter. It differs from the
other planets because it has liquid water on its surface, maintains life, and
has active plate movement. It rotates on its axis every 24 hours (a day) and
revolves around the Sun every 365 days (a year). The Earth has one
moon.

Mars is a little more than half the size of the Earth, having a diameter of
6,790 kilometers. It takes Mars 687 days to revolve once around the Sun. It
rotates at about the same speed as the Earth, taking 24.6 hours. Mars has
a very thin atmosphere which is composed largely of CO2. Its surface is
very cold, and is covered with craters, volcanoes, and large canyons. Mars
is reddish in colour. Mars has two small moons. It is named for the Roman
god of war.

Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System, with a diameter of

142,980 kilometers, more than 11 times wider than the Earth. Jupiter orbits
the Sun once every 12 years. It rotates very fast, in 9 hours and 19
minutes.. Its surface is made up of gas (mostly hydrogen), so that if you
landed on the surface you would sink into it. Jupiter probably has a core of
metallic hydrogen and rock, although evidence for this is theoretical. The
outer gaseous part of Jupiter is broken into bands of white, yellow, red, and
brown clouds. Jupiter has 4 rings mainly composed of dust. Huge oval-
shaped storms also occur on the surface. Jupiter has 67 known satellites
(as of 2016) including  the four large Galilean moons (Io, Europa, Callisto,
and Ganymede) plus many more small ones some of which have not yet
been named. Jupiter is named for the Roman supreme god of heaven.

Saturn is well known for its system of three rings. It is a large planet: at
120,536 kilometers it is only a little smaller than Jupiter. It revolves around
the Sun in 12 years, and rotates a little more than 10 hours. Like Jupiter,
Saturn is composed of mostly gas, and has a core composed of rock and
metallic hydrogen. The surface of Saturn looks banded, and has a brown-
yellow, butterscotch colour. Saturn’s rings are probably composed of small
particles of ice and rock. Saturn has 62 moons (as of 2016). It is named for
the Roman god of agriculture.

Uranus is 51,118 kilometers in diameter, about 4.4 times the size of the
Earth. It revolves around the Sun slowly, taking 84 years to complete one
orbit. It rotates in about 17 hours. It is covered by a thick layer of gas, and
has a fairly uniform blue-green colour. Uranus has 27  moons (as of 2016) 
and  is surrounded by a system of nine rings. It is named for another
Roman god, the grandfather of Jupiter

Neptune is slightly smaller than Uranus, with a diameter of 49,500

kilometers. It circles the Sun once every 165 years, and rotates in 16 hours.
Its atmosphere appears blue , and is marked by large dark blue storm
systems. It is surrounded by a system of five rings and at least 14 moons.
Neptune is named for the Roman god of the ocean.

Pluto in 2006 was renamed as a dwarf planet. It has an eccentric, oval-

shaped orbit, which is tilted with respect to the rest of the Solar System.
Pluto revolves around the Sun in 248 years, and rotates in a period of 6.4
days. Pluto is probably composed of rock. Its surface and color are
unknown. It has one large moon that is almost like a twin with 2 smaller
moons.  Pluto is named for the Roman god of outer darkness.