Mercury:
- slightly larger than Earth’s Moon
- little atmosphere and covered with craters
- superheated by the sun, at night temp. drops hundreds of degrees below freezing
- ice may even exist in craters
- every 88 days Earth days, Mercury completes its orbit
Venus:
- a dim world of intense heat and volcanic activity
- similar structure and size to Earth
- toxic atmosphere traps heat
- hot enough to melt lead
- spins slowly in the opposite direction of most planets
Earth:
- Our home planet
- atmosphere is made up of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% other ingredients
- the atmosphere protects us from meteorites
- a rocky planet
- 70% of Earth is covered in oceans
Earth's Moon
- The moon has a very thin and weak atmosphere.
- The moon takes 29 days to orbit earth.
- The surface of the moon is solid and rocky.
- The moon has many craters and pits from impacts.
Mars:
- a cold desert world
- half the diameter of Earth
- the same amount of dry land as Earth
- has seasons, polar ice caps, volcanoes, canyons, and weather
- signs of ancient floods on Mars
Jupiter:
- the most massive planet in our solar system
- dozens of moons and an enormous magnetic field
- forms a kind of miniature solar system
- swirling cloud stripes are punctuated by massive storms
- the Great Red Spot, a storm, has raged for hundreds of years
Saturn:
- thousands of beautiful ringlets
- mostly a massive ball of hydrogen and helium
- rings are made of ice and rock
- 1.4 billion km from the sun
- 29 Earth years to orbit our sun
Uranus:
- the only giant planet whose equator is nearly at right angles to its orbit
- as big, in size as Neptune
- has more methane in its mainly hydrogen and helium atmosphere
- methane gives Uranus its blue tint
- has several rings
Neptune:
- the last of the hydrogen and helium gas giants in our solar system
- 30 times as far from the sun as Earth
- takes almost 165 Earth years to orbit our sun
- in 2011, Neptune completed its first orbit since its discovery
- discovered in 1864