The Inner Planets Mercury Symbol

Earth Symbol

Solid or Gas: Solid surface Atmosphere: Trace amounts of hydrogen and helium Moons: None Other Information: Mercury takes 59 earth days to make a rotation, but only 88 earth days to circle the Sun. The average temperature is -184C (-300F) to 427C (800F). Mercury is a little larger than the earth's moon. Most of its surface is covered with craters. Venus Symbol

Solid or Gas: Solid surface Atmosphere: 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, 1% Other gases Moons: One: the Moon Other Information: Earth has more exposed water than land. Three quarters of the Earth is covered by water. The average temperatures are -89C (-128F) to 57.7C (136F). Rotation: 24hours. Revolution around the sun: 365 days 5 hours.

Mars Symbol

Solid or Gas: Solid Surface Atmosphere: Very dense; Carbon dioxide (96%), Nitrogen (3%) and trace amounts of other gases Moons: None Other Information: Venus is the brightest planet in our sky and can sometimes be seen with the naked eye if you know where to look. The average temperature is 457C (855F). Venus is hotter than Mercury. Rotation: 243 earth days. Revolution around the sun: 225 earth days. Venus is the closest planet to the earth.

Solid or Gas: Solid surface Atmosphere: 95% Carbon dioxide, 3% Nitrogen, 1.6% Argon Moons: Two: Phobos and Deimos Other Information: Mars is the home of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano found in the solar system. It stands about 27 kilometers high with a crater 81 kilometers wide. The average temperatures are -82C ( -116F) to 0C (32F). Rotation: 24.6 hours. Revolution around the sun: 687 earth days.

The Outer Planets Jupiter Symbol

Saturn Symbol

Solid or Gas: Gas Giant Atmosphere: Jupiter's atmosphere includes complicated molecules such as ammonia and methane, as well as simple molecules such as helium, hydrogen, and sulfur. The composition is: 90% hydrogen, 10% helium, .07% methane Moons: 17 and a ring system: The four Galilean satellitesare: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Other "small moons" in order are; Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, Thebe, Leda, Himalia, Lysithea, Elara, Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae, Sinope and S/1999 J1 Other Information: Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, but it spins very quickly on its axis. A day on Jupiter lasts only 9 hours and 55 minutes.The average temperatures are -150C (-101F). Revolution around the sun: 12 earth years. The Great Red Spot is a storm that has appeared on Jupiter for many years.

Solid or Gas: Gas Giant Atmosphere: The dramatic appearance of Saturn stems mainly from the spectacular rings. The atmosphere looks much less dramatic. The clouds of Saturn are much less colorful than those of Jupiter. This is because the composition of Saturn's atmosphere includes more sulfur. This adds to Saturn's overall yellow appearance. The composition is: 97% hydrogen, 3% helium, .05% methane Moons: 28 known moons, many rings: The moon Titan is one of the only moons in the solar system with a significant atmosphere. Other unusual moons of Saturn include the "Death Star" shaped Mimas, the half-black, half-white Iapetus, and the garbage-can shaped Hyperion. Other moons, in order, are; Pan, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Epimetheus, Janus, Enceladus, Tethys, Telesto, Calypso, Dione, Helene, Rhea, Phoebe, S/2000 S1-S/2000 S4 and S/2000 S5-S/2000 S10. Other Information: Saturn is the second biggest planet, but its also the lightest planet. If there was a bathtub big enough to hold Saturn, it would float in the water. The average temperatures are -170C (-274F). Rotation: 10.67 hrs. Revolution around the sun: 29.5 earth years.

Uranus Symbol

Neptune Symbol

Solid or Gas: Gas Planet Atmosphere: The planet appears to be bluegreen because the methane gas of the atmosphere traps red light and does not allow that color to escape. The composition is: 83% hydrogen, 15% helium, 2% methane Moons: 21 known moons, faint rings: The moons are, in order; Cordelia, Ophelia, Bianca, Cressida, Desdemona, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Belinda, and Puck. These moons are part of a group called the "Small Moons". Icy moons of Uranus are; Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon, Caliban, and Sycorax. In 1999, four more Uranian moons were found. They include Prospero, Setebos, Stephano and 1986 U 10. Other Information: Uranus axis is at a 97 degree angle, meaning that it orbits on its side. The average temperatures are -200C ( -328F). Rotation: 17.24 hrs. Revolution around the sun: 84 earth years.

Solid or Gas: Gas Planet Atmosphere: Neptune's atmosphere shows a striped pattern of clouds. This cloud pattern is very similar to that of Jupiter and Saturn. Neptune even has a Great Dark Spot similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot. The composition of Neptune clouds is thought to be methane molecules. The composition is: 74% hydrogen, 25% helium, 1% methane Moons: Eight known moons, faint rings: The major moon of Neptune is Triton. It may have active geysers, like those found at Yellowstone Park. Other moons are Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Naiad, Proteus, Thalassa and Nereid. Other Information: Neptune was discovered in 1846 (over 150 years ago). Since that time it has still yet to make a complete orbit around the sun, because one Neptune year lasts 165 Earth years! The average temperatures are -210C ( -346F). Rotation: 17.24 hrs. Revolution around the sun: 165 earth years.

The Dwarf Planets Pluto Symbol

Haumea and Makemake Haumea (43.34 AU average), and Makemake (45.79 AU average), while smaller than Pluto, are the largest known objects in the classical Kuiper belt (that is, they are not in a confirmed resonance with Neptune). Haumea is an egg-shaped object with two moons. Makemake is the brightest object in the Kuiper belt after Pluto. Originally designated 2003 EL61 and 2005 FY9 respectively, they were given names and designated dwarf planets in 2008.[78] Their orbits are far more inclined than Pluto's, at 28 and 29.[79]

Solid or Gas: Solid surface Atmosphere: Very thin, perhaps methane and nitrogen Moons: One known: Pluto's moon, Charon, is 12,200 miles from the planet and has a diameter of 1,200 km (740 miles). Charon was first seen from Earth in 1978. Pluto and Charon are similar in size, and they orbit each other like a double planet, with the same sides permanently facing each other. Other Information: Plutos orbit sometimes brings it closer to the Sun than Neptune. It jumped ahead of Neptune on September 5, 1989 and remained there until February, 1999 when it went back to being the farthest.The average temperatures are 229C (-380F). Rotation: 6.4 days. Revolution around the sun: 248 years. Eris Eris (68 AU average) is the largest known scattered disc object, and caused a debate about what constitutes a planet, since it is 25% more massive than Pluto[82] and about the same diameter. It is the most massive of the known dwarf planets. It has one moon, Dysnomia. Like Pluto, its orbit is highly eccentric, with a perihelion of 38.2 AU (roughly Pluto's distance from the Sun) and an aphelion of 97.6 AU, and steeply inclined to the ecliptic plane.

Ceres Ceres (2.77 AU) is the largest asteroid, a protoplanet, and a dwarf planet.[e] It has a diameter of slightly under 1000 km, and a mass large enough for its own gravity to pull it into a spherical shape. Ceres was considered a planet when it was discovered in the 19th century, but was reclassified as an asteroid in the 1850s as further observations revealed additional asteroids.[56] It was classified in 2006 as a dwarf planet.

Sun The Sun is the Solar System's star, and by far its chief component. Its large mass (332,900 Earth masses)[19] produces temperatures and densities in its core great enough to sustain nuclear fusion,[20] which releases enormous amounts of energy, mostly radiated into space as electromagneti c radiation, peaking in the 400700 nm band we call visible light.[21] Corona The crown. The suns upper atmosphere. Like the chromosphere, it is visible only during a solar eclipse Core The super-hot center where atomic blasts take place. Hydrogen turns into helium. Energy is created. the energy is in the form of gamma rays. Radioactive Zone In this zone many gamma rays change into less harmful forms of energy. The sun is so dense that energy takes millions of years to rise to the surface. Sunspots Dark blotches on the Suns surface. They peak in number about every 11 years. The spots are cooler than the rest of the surface. Solar Flares Sudden blasts of burning gas. They shoot millions of miles into space and release a powerful burst of energy.

Photosphere The surface of the Sun which glows bright white due to the heat below. As hot gasses rise they carry energy up to the surface with them. The energy escapes through the surface and spreads into space. Chromospheres The Suns atmosphere. Its a layer of gas above the Photosphere. It is only visible during a solar eclipse.

Moon Moon is the only natural satellite of the Earth,[nb 4][7] and the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System. It is the largest natural satellite of a planet in the Solar System relative to the size of its primary, having a quarter the diameter of Earth 1 [nb 5] and 81 its mass. The Moon is the second densest satellite after Io, a satellite of Jupiter. It is in synchronous rotation with Earth, always showing the same face; the near side is marked with dark volcanic maria among the bright ancient crustal highlands and prominent impact craters. It is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun, although its surface is actually very dark, with a similar reflectance to coal. Its prominence in the sky and its regular cycle of phases have, since ancient times, made the Moon an important cultural influenceon language, calendars, art andmythology. The Moon's gravitational influence produces the ocean tides and the minute lengthening of the day. The Moon's current orbital distance, about thirty times the diameter of the Earth, causes it to appear almost the same size in the sky as the Sun, allowing it to cover the Sun nearly precisely in total solar eclipses.