Mercury

This picture of Mercury was taken by NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft.

Credits: NASA

MESSENGER has given scientists a better look at Mercury

than they've ever had.
Credits: NASA

Mercury is a planet in our solar system. It is the smallest of the eight planets. It is also the closest
to the sun. Mercury goes around the sun the fastest of all the planets. Mercury has no moons.
How Did Mercury Get Its Name?
The Romans believed that gods and goddesses were in charge of everything on Earth. Mercury is
named after the messenger for their gods. The Roman Mercury had wings on his helmet and
shoes. He could travel very quickly from place to place. The planet Mercury moves quickly
around the sun. That is how it got its name.
How Big Is Mercury?
Mercury is a little bigger than Earth's moon. It is made of heavier materials, like iron. But if you
could weigh Mercury and the moon, Mercury would weigh a lot more. Mercury is heavy, but it is
small. It would take more than 18 Mercurys to be as big as Earth.
Where Is Mercury?
Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. Mercury goes around the sun once every 88 Earth days.
A day on Mercury lasts a lot longer than a day on Earth. One day on Mercury lasts 59 Earth
days.
What Is Mercury Like?
The surface of Mercury looks like Earth's moon. It is covered with holes. The holes are called
impact craters. The craters were made by rocks falling from space. The rocks are going very fast
when they hit Mercury. A hole is made where the rock hits. Earth has a blanket of air around it.
Mercury does not. The blanket is what helps keep Earth from getting too hot or cold. Because it
is so close to the sun, Mercury can be very hot. At night, Mercury gets very cold. We could not
live on Mercury!

How Has NASA Studied Mercury?

Mercury is hard to study because it is so close to the sun. People have never gone to Mercury.
Spacecraft without people have gone. Mariner 10 was the first to visit Mercury. It flew by in
1974 and 1975. Not even half of Mercury was seen then. After that, nothing was sent to Mercury
for more than 30 years. NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft flew by Mercury in 2008 and 2009. In
March 2011, it began to orbit Mercury. MESSENGER will study parts of Mercury that have not
been seen before. It will let scientists learn many new things about the planet.

* Composition and Structure OF MERCURY

No Atmosphere: Mercury possesses an exosphere containing 42% oxygen, 29 % Sodium, 22%
Hydrogen 6% helium, 0.5% Potassium, with possible to amount of argon, carbon dioxide, water,
nitrogen, Xenon, Krypton and neon: magnetic field roughly 1% the strength of earth
Internal Structure: Iron core roughly 2,200 to 2,400 miles (3,600 to 3,800km) wide. Outer
Silicate shell about 300 to 400 miles (500 to 600 km) thick.
*Orbit and Rotation
Average Distance from the sun: 35, 982, 095 miles (57,909,175 km)
Perihelion (closest approach to sun): 28, 580, 000 miles (46,000,000 km)
Aphelion (farthest distance from sun) 43, 380, 000 miles (69, 820, 000 km)
Length of Day: 58. 646 earth days
* Research and Exploration
The first spacecraft to visit mercury was Marine 10 which image about 45% of the surface and
detected its magnetic field
. The second spacecraft to visit mercury was NASA’s Messenger when it arrived in March 2011.
Messenger became the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury. Where it continues to study the planet
(First photos of mercury from orbit)

Venus
Venus (Greek: Aphrodite; Babylonian: Ishtar) is the goddess of love and beauty. The planet is so
named probably because it is the brightest of the planets known to the ancients.
Like Mercury, it was popularly thought to be two separate bodies: Eosphorus as the morning star
and Hesperus as the evening star, but the Greek astronomers knew better. (Venus's apparition as
the morning star is also sometimes called Lucifer.)
If you could look at Venus with radar eyes - this is what you might see. This computer
reconstruction of the surface of Venus was created from data from the Magellan spacecraft.

The first spacecraft to visit Venus was Mariner 2 in 1962. It was subsequently visited by many
others (more than 20 in all so far), including Pioneer Venus and the Soviet Venera 7 the first
spacecraft to land on another planet, and Venera 9 which returned the first photographs of the
surface. The first orbiter, the US spacecraft Magellan produced detailed maps of Venus' surface
using radar. ESA's Venus Express launched in November of 2005 and arrived at Venus in April
2006. The Venus Express is conducting atmospheric studies, mapping the Venusian surface
temperatures and the plasma environment.

Size:
Radius: 3750 miles or 6052 km
Mass: 4.869x10e24
Distance from the sun: 67.24 million miles or 108.2 million km
Distance from the earth:26miles or 41,840,000 km
Revolution; 225 earth days
Rotation: 243 earth days
Satellite: 0
Rings:0

Composition:
Venus is a volcanic planet, with about four-fifths of the planet covered by smooth, lava-
hardened plains. The surface has few impact craters, indicating that it is relatively young. The
planet's surface area is 90 percent that of Earth's, covering 178 million square miles (460 million
square km). The planet boasts two land masses, Ishtar Terra and Aphrodite Terra, which make up
about 8 percent of its surface area (as compared to the 25 percent of continent-covered surface on
Earth). The Venusian continents are raised areas with no relation to the plate tectonics that form
land masses on Earth; of course, there are no oceans on Venus to divide them, only volcanic
plains.

The highest mountain on Venus, Maxwell Mons, lies on the northern continent of Ishtar Terra, 7
miles (11 km) above the average surface level of the planet. In comparison, Mount Everest is
only 5.4 miles (8.8 km) above Earth's sea level. Ishtar Terra is about the size of Australia, and
contains the four mountain ranges of Venus, providing potential evidence that the planet's
surface may be in motion.

Aphrodite Terra lies just to the south of the equator. It is about half the size of Africa, and boasts
deep rift valleys, which may also offer evidence of surface movement. Diana Chasma, composed
of canyons and mountains on this continent, is the lowest point on the planet. One of the canyons
drops 1.8 miles (2.9 km) below the mean surface level, 14 km lower than the peak of Maxwell's
Mons. In comparison, the difference between Mount Everest and Earth's lowest point, in the
Marianas Trench, is approximately 12 miles (20 km).
Atmospheric Makeup
Although it is the second planet from the sun and having a temperature of 864° F or 462°
C Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system. The reason Venus is hotter than even Mercury
is not because of its position in the solar system but because of its thick, dense cloud layer.
Venus is the planet most similar to the Earth in terms of size and mass, but its atmosphere
causes huge differences in the temperatures of the two planets. The distance to Venus from the
sun plays only a small role in the cause of its elevated heat wave.

Sources: http://www.space.com/18525-venus-composition.html
http://www.space.com/18525-venus-composition.html
http://www.space.com/18527-venus-atmosphere.html
http://www.space.com/18526-venus-temperature.htm

EARTH
How far earth from sun?
The distance from earth to the sun is called and astronomical unit (AU) which is used to measure
distance throughout the solar system.

The AU has defined as 92,955,807 miles.

Earth makes a complete revolution around the sun every 365.25 days.
Earth’s orbit is not a perfect circle; it is shaped more like an oval.

Earth closest approach to the sun, called perihelion, comes in early January and it’s about 91
million miles (146 million km).

The farthest from the sun earth get is called aphelion. It comes in early july and is about 94.5
million miles (152 million km)

Historically, the first person to measure the distance to the san was aristarchus around the year
250 BC.
Astronomers Christian Huygens calculated the distance from earth to the sun in 1653.

How Big is Earth?

The fifth largest in terrestrial planets of the inner solar system.

Radius and diameter

The radius of earth is 3,959 miles (6,371 km)
Earth’s equatorial diameter is 7,926 miles (12,756km)

Density, mass and volume

Earth’s density is 5,513 grams per cubic centimetre. Earth is the densest planet in the solar
system of its metallic core and rocky mantle.
Earth’s mass is 6.6 sextillion tons. It volume is about 260 billion cubic miles (1 trillion cubic
kilometers).

Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and is the second smallest planet in the solar system.
Named after the Roman god of war, Mars is also often described as the “Red Planet” due to its
reddish appearance. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere composed primarily of
carbon dioxide. Mars Planet Profile Equatorial Diameter: 6,792 km Polar Diameter: 6,752 km
Mass: 6.42 x 10^23 kg (10.7% Earth) Moons: 2 (Phobos & Deimos) Orbit Distance: 227,943,824
km (1.52 AU) Orbit Period: 687 days (1.9 years) Surface Temperature: -153 to 20 °C First
Record: 2nd millennium BC Recorded By: Egyptian astronomers Facts About Mars • Mars and
Earth have approximately the same landmass. Even though Mars has only 15% of the Earth’s
volume and just over 10% of the Earth’s mass, around two thirds of the Earth’s surface is
covered in water. Martian surface gravity is only 37% of the Earth’s (meaning you could leap
nearly three times higher on Mars). • Mars is home to the tallest mountain in the solar system.
Olympus Mons, a shield volcano, is 21km high and 600km in diameter. Despite having formed
over billions of years, evidence from volcanic lava flows is so recent many scientists believe it
could still be active. • Only 18 missions to Mars have been successful. As of September 2014
there have been 40 missions to Mars, including orbiters, landers and rovers but not counting
flybys. The most recent arrivals include the Mars Curiosity mission in 2012, the MAVEN
mission, which arrived on September 22, 2014, followed by the Indian Space Research
Organization’s MOM Mangalyaan orbiter, which arrived on September 24, 2014. The next
missions to arrive will be the European Space Agency’s ExoMars mission, comprising an
orbiter, lander, and a rover, followed by NASA’s InSight robotic lander mission, slated for
launch in March 2016 and a planned arrival in September, 2016. • Mars has the largest dust
storms in the solar system. They can last for months and cover the entire planet. The seasons are
extreme because its elliptical (oval-shaped) orbital path around the Sun is more elongated than
most other planets in the solar system. • On Mars the Sun appears about half the size as it does
on Earth. At the closest point to the Sun, the Martian southern hemisphere leans towards the Sun,
causing a short, intensely hot summer, while the northern hemisphere endures a brief, cold
winter: at its farthest point from the Sun, the Martian northern hemisphere leans towards the Sun,
causing a long, mild summer, while the southern hemisphere endures a lengthy, cold winter. •
Pieces of Mars have fallen to Earth. Scientists have found tiny traces of Martian atmosphere
within meteorites violently ejected from Mars, then orbiting the solar system amongst galactic
debris for millions of years, before crash landing on Earth. This allowed scientists to begin
studying Mars prior to launching space missions. • Mars takes its name from the Roman god of
war. The ancient Greeks called the planet Ares, after their god of war; the Romans then did
likewise, associating the planet’s blood-red colour with Mars, their own god of war.
Interestingly, other ancient cultures also focused on colour – to China’s astronomers it was ‘the
fire star’, whilst Egyptian priests called on ‘Her Desher’, or ‘the red one’. The red colour Mars is
known for is due to the rock and dust covering its surface being rich in iron. • There are signs of
liquid water on Mars. For years Mars has been known to have water in the form of ice. The first
signs of trickling water are dark stripes or stains on crater wall and cliffs seen in satellite images.
Due to Mars’ atmosphere this water would have to be salty to prevent it from freezing or
vaporising. • One day Mars will have a ring. In the next 20-40 million years Mars’ largest moon
Phobos will be torn apart by gravitational forces leading to the creation of a ring that could last
up to 100 million years.

Two moons of Mars

The two moons of Mars are Phobos and Deimos. Both moons were discovered in 1877 by
Asaph Hall and are named after the characters Phobos (fear) and Deimos (terror) who, in Greek
mythology, accompanied their father Ares, god of war, into battle. Ares was known as Mars to
the Romans.
Of the four rocky, terrestrial planets, only Mars has more than one moon. The two small bodies
that orbit the red planet are both smaller than Earth's moon, and raise a number of questions
about the formation of the early solar system.
Phobos and Deimos bear more resemblance to asteroids than to Earth's moon. Both are tiny —
the larger, Phobos, is only 14 miles across (22 kilometers), while the smaller, Deimos, is only 8
miles (13 km), making them some of the smallest moons in the solar system.
Because of their odd shapes and strange composition, scientists thought for a long time that
both moons were born asteroids.
For years, scientists thought that Mars had no moon. Johannes Kepler suggested the possibility
of two moons around the red planet, but only from a numerical standpoint; Earth had one moon
and Jupiter, at the time, was known to have four, so the middle planet would likely have two.
It wasn't until American astronomer Asaph Hall made a thorough study of the planet in 1877 that
the tiny, closely orbiting bodies were found. Hall discovered Deimos on Aug. 12 and Phobos on
Aug. 18. The two tiny bodies had been hidden in the glare from the planet.