Planetary System of Sol

1. Planetary System of Sol By: Lee Wortham 2nd period Astronomy

2. Mercury • Name comes from the Roman messenger god. • Has been visited by 2 space craft, Mariner 10 and MESSENGER. • Has a thin atmosphere composed primarily of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and argon. • Its core is primarily composed of iron. Interesting Facts • Due to a lack of any real atmosphere Mercury has temperature fluctuations of more than 1,100 ℉ (600 C), reaching a height of 840 ℉ (450 C) during the day and lows of -275 ℉ (-170 C). • A single day is equivalent to about 58 earth days. • Despite being the smallest planet, Mercury is the second densest, second only to Earth, this primarily due to a large metallic core with a radius or 1,100-1,200 miles long, encompassing 75% of the planets total radius.

3. Venus • The atmosphere is composed of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, as well as clouds of sulfuric acid. • Named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. • Most of the surface is covered by flat, smooth plains marred by volcanic activity. • Venus has coronae— ring-like structures that range from roughly 95 to 360 miles (155 to 580 kilometers) wide. • Has a metallic iron core and primarily basalt crust. • Venus has been visited by Venera 1 through Venera 16, Mariner 2, Zond 1, Mariner 5, Mariner 10, Mariner 5, Magellan, among others. • Interesting Facts • Was once thought to be two different stars, the morning star and the evening star. In Latin these names were Lucifer and Vesper, respectively. • Any probe sent to Venus’ surface is utterly and completely destroyed within a matter of hours. • The dense atmosphere leads to a surface pressure 90 times that of Earth. • It takes Venus 243 earth days to rotate on its axis and has a year of about 225 earth days long.

4. Earth • Is the only planet within our Solar System with liquid water. • Atmosphere is composed of nitrogen and oxygen. • Earth’s crust is made up of iron, oxygen, silicon, magnesium, sulfur, nickel, and trace amounts of calcium, aluminum, and other elements. The core is composed of mostly iron and nickel. • Earth gets its name from the word Erda, the Anglo-Saxon word of ‘ground’ or ‘soil’ • Interesting Facts • Earth houses upwards of 7million different species of life. • Earth is about 4.54 billion years old. • Has a pole reversal every 200,000-300,000 years.

5. Mars • Atmosphere composed of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and argon. • The surface of Mars is covered in iron oxide. The crust is composed primarily of basalt rock. Core likely contains iron, nickel, and sulfur. • Named after Roman god of War. • The largest Volcano on Mars is the Olympus Mons, which measures roughly 600 km across its base, and 25 km above the surrounding plain. • Has two moons, which are actually asteroids, Phobos and Deimos. • Several rovers have been sent to Mars, Mars 2, Mars 3, Sojourner, Beagle 2, Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity. • Interesting Facts • Mars has no magnetic field due to the fact that its core does not move. • It snows on Mars. However these “snowflakes” are composed of carbon dioxide roughly the size of a red blood cell each.

6. Jupiter • Name comes from the ruler of the pantheon of the Roman gods. • Atmosphere is composed of hydrogen and helium. • Its core is surrounded by a helium-rich layer of fluid hydrogen. • The Great Red Spot is a hurricane-like storm that has been seen for more than 300 years. • Jupiter has been visited by Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager 1 and 2, Ulysses, Cassini, and Horizons, while the only probe placed in orbit has been Galileo. • Interesting Facts • The bands in Jupiter’s atmosphere are caused by strong east and west winds. • Jupiter actually has a very small band of rings circling around it. • A day on Jupiter is about 10 hours long.

7. Saturn • Atmosphere composed of helium and hydrogen. • Named after Roman god of agriculture. • Saturn's core appears to be made out of iron and rocky material surrounded by an outer core probably composed of ammonia, methane, and water. Next is a layer of highly compressed, liquid metallic hydrogen, followed by a region of viscous hydrogen and helium. • Saturn has the most extensive ring system in the solar system. • Probe flyby’s include Pioneer 11, voyager 1 and 2. • Orbiters include Cassini. • Interesting Facts • Saturn's density is so low that it could float on a body of water. • Saturn has at least 62 moons. Since the planet was named after Cronus, lord of the Titans in Greek mythology, most of Saturn's moons are named after other Titans, their descendants, as well as after giants from Gallic, Inuit and Norse myths. • Saturn has a magnetic field about 578 times as powerful as Earth’s.

8. Uranus • Name comes from the Greek god that embodied the sky. • Atmosphere composed of hydrogen, helium, and methane. • The liquid core makes up 80 percent of the mass of the planet, mostly comprised of water, methane, and ammonia ice. • Axis is tilted 90 degrees to the side so that one pole faces the sun and one points away. • Uranus has only been visited by Voyager 2. • Interesting Facts • Gravity on Uranus is only 90% that of Earth. • Due to Uranus’s lopsidedness, its magnetic field is offset from the poles by about 60 degrees. • Has an orbit of 84 years.

9. Neptune • Atmosphere composed of hydrogen, helium, and methane. • Core is similar to ours, in that it is rocky and made out of iron. • Named after the Roman god of the Sea. • Has a small set of rings, that feature prominent arcs, rather than material continuous throughout, like the other ringed planets. • Neptune has only been visited by Voyager 2. • Interesting Facts • Surface temperature averages -550 degrees fahrenheit. • Winds on Neptune can reach up to 2,100 km/hour. • Likely captured its largest moon, Triton.

10. Pluto, why it is no longer a planet. • is in orbit around the Sun • has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic (a nearly round shape • has “cleared the neighborhood" around its orbit. • Pluto is no longer a planet because it has no cleared “the neighborhood” around it and there are roughly 70,000 other icy bodies within the Kuiper Belt, which is where Pluto exists.