| ~ | Unlike many of our nine planets, Mercury has no moons.
VENUS
| ~ | Venus is a small, rocky planet blanketed in a thick layer of yellowish clouds.
These clouds are not made of water (like the ones here on Earth).
Instead, they are formed from a poison called sulfuric acid. |
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| ~ | Venus' surface is very hot - about 400 degrees Celsius! |
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| ~ | Even though Venus is very cloudy, it's simply *too hot* for rain to form. |
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| ~ | The first spacecraft to visit Venus was Mariner 2 in 1962.
Venus has since been visited by more than 20 spacecraft in all so far!
Some of these visiting spacecraft include: Pioneer Venus, Venera 7, Venera 9 and Magellan. |
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| ~ | Venus has no moons. |
EARTH
| ~ | Earth is a small, rocky planet which supports a variety of life! As far as we know,
Earth is unique from all other planets in this respect. | <>
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| ~ | Temperatures at the Earth's center (called the "core") may be as high as 7500 K -
That's hotter than the surface of the Sun! |
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| ~ | The Earth is the densest major body in the solar system.
This means that it's the most "compact" of all the planets.
For example, you have two loaves of bread, both of the same amount.
You smash one loaf of bread flat. Even though both loaves are of the same amount,
the smashed bread is *denser* because it is more compact. |
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| ~ | The Earth is 4.5 to 4.6 billion years old,
but the oldest known rocks are less than 4 billion years old.
Rocks older than 3 billion years are rare.
The oldest fossils of living organisms are less than 3.9 billion years old! |
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| ~ | The Earth is orbited by one moon.
MARS
| ~ | Mars is a small, rocky planet which is cold and lifeless. |
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| ~ | The first spacecraft to visit Mars was Mariner 4 in 1965.
Several others followed including the two Viking landers in 1976.
After a long break, Mars Pathfinder landed successfully on Mars on July 4, 1997. |
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| ~ | Mars has permanent ice caps at both poles made up mostly of solid carbon dioxide.
We know this as "dry ice." |
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| ~ | Very strong winds and vast dust storms sometimes blow through the entire planet for months! |
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| ~ | Mars has two tiny moons which orbit very close to the surface.
Their names are Phobos and Deimos |
JUPITER
| ~ | Jupiter is a giant gas planet which is made up of about 90% hydrogen and 10% helium. |
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| ~ | Jupiter was first visited by the Pioneer 10 spacecraft in 1973. It was later visited by Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, Voyager 2 and Ulysses. The spacecraft Galileo is currently in orbit around Jupiter and will be sending back data for at least the next two years. |
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| ~ | Jupiter is so big that you could cram 1,000 Earths inside of it! That's *mighty big*! |
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| ~ | It is thought that Jupiter's "Great Red Spot" is a storm of swirling gas that has lasted for hundreds of years. Scientists are still unsure as to how such a storm could last for so long. |
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| ~ | Jupiter has 16 known moons! There are four large "Galilean" moons, and 12 small ones.
SATURN
| ~ | Saturn is a giant gas planet which is made up of about 75% hydrogen and 25% helium. It's most famous for its thousands of beautiful rings. |
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| ~ | Saturn was first visited by the Pioneer 11 spacecraft in 1979. Saturn has also since been visited by Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. |
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| ~ | Saturn's rings are made up mostly of water ice, but they may also include rocky particles with icy coatings. The origin of the rings of Saturn is currently unknown. |
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| ~ | Saturn is made up of materials which are lighter than water. If placed in a big pond, Saturn would float much like an ice cube does in a glass of water. |
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| ~ | Saturn has 18 known moons - more than any other planet! There may very well be several small ones yet to be discovered. |
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URANUS
| ~ | Uranus is a giant gas planet which is made up of mostly rock and various ices. |
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| ~ | Uranus has been visited by only one spacecraft, Voyager 2 on Jan 24 1986. |
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| ~ | Uranus spins differently from most planets. It seems to be tilted "sideways" instead of right-side up. At the time of Voyager 2's passage, Uranus' south pole was pointed almost directly at the Sun. |
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| ~ | Uranus has 15 known moons. Voyager 2 discovered 10 small moons in addition to the 5 large ones already known. It is likely that there are many more tiny moons within the rings. |
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NEPTUNE
| ~ | Neptune is a giant gas planet which is most likely made up of various "ices" and rock. |
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| ~ | Neptune has been visited by only one spacecraft, Voyager 2 on Aug 25 1989.
Almost everything we know about Neptune comes from this one visit. |
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| ~ | Depending on how far along Pluto is in its orbit (path around the Sun),
Neptune can be either the eighth or ninth planet. Pluto's orbit is kind of wacky,
and it sometimes crosses in front of Neptune. When Pluto does this,
Neptune is behind Pluto - hence,
it is the ninth planet for a short time. |
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| ~ | Neptune has 8 known moons; 7 small ones and a large moon called "Triton."
PLUTO
| ~ | Pluto is a small, icy "dwarf planet". Scientists are still unsure as to exactly what it's made of. |
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| ~ | Pluto has not yet been visited by a spacecraft, but there's one on the way! |
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| ~ | Depending on how far along it is in its orbit (path around the Sun),
Pluto can be either the eighth or ninth planet. Pluto's orbit is kind of wacky,
and it sometimes crosses in front of Neptune. When Pluto does this,
Neptune is behind Pluto - hence, it is the eighth planet for a short time. |
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FROM : http://kids.nineplanets.org/intro.htm |
