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A little about our Solar System

G As you know, planets are
part of our solar system.
Comets, asteroids and
the planets' moons are
part of the solar system,
too. These things all orbit
around a star we call the
sun. And it's all held
together by gravity.

G The planets are often

divided into two
groups: the four inner
planets (Mercury,
Venus, Earth and
Mars) and the five
outer planets (Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus,
Neptune and Pluto).

More about Mercury

Mercury is the closest

planet to the sun.
Because Mercury is so
close to the sun (and the
sun's glare) it is difficult to
spot from Earth.

Mercury's gravity is less

than half what we have
on Earth, so Mercury can
hold onto only a small bit
of an atmosphere. Since
there's not much
atmosphere (which on
Earth acts like a warm
blanket) temperatures on
Mercury go crazy. It can
be a scorching 750
degrees Fahrenheit
during the day, and minus
320 at night!

More fun facts about Venus

G The second planet from the
sun bakes under twice as
much solar radiation as Earth.
Venus reaches temperatures
of 895 degrees Fahrenheit!
G The thick clouds around Venus
rotate much faster than the
planet itself -- once every four
days. Not counting the moon,
Venus is the brightest object in
the night sky.

G The surface of Venus is mostly

a rocky desert (there are many
computer-generated that show
lava flows around a place
called Sif Mons). Like Mercury,
Earth and Mars, Venus is
mostly rock and metal.
G While all of the planets orbit in
an ellipse (something like the
shape of an egg), Venus' orbit
is the closest to a perfect
circle.
G Because it is often brighter
than anything in the sky except
the moon, Venus is the cause
of many UFO reports.

MERCURY
G The diameter of Mercury
is 3,031 miles.
G It takes the planet 58.6
days to rotate completely
360 degrees.
G It takes 88 Earth days for
Mercury to rotate around
the sun.
G Mercury only weighs
5.5% of what earth
weighs.
G Mercurys diameter is
38% of what the earths
diameter is.

VENUS
G The Diameter of Venus is
7,521 miles.
G It takes 243 days to rotate
360 degrees completely.
G It Takes 225 Earth days
to orbit the sun.
G It only has 82 % of the
mass earth has
G Its diameter is about 95%
of earths.
G It is a 30 percent closer to
the sun that the earth.

EARTH
G The Diameter of
earth is 7,926 miles.
G It takes 23 hours, 56
minutes for the
earth to rotate
completely.
G It takes 365.24 days
for the earth to Orbit
around the sun.

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Cool facts about Earth

G Earth is the third planet from
the sun. Like the other three
planets of the inner solar
system (Mercury, Venus, and
Mars) our planet is made up
mostly of rock and metal.
G One of the most important
things about Earth is that
there's lots of water, which
is one important reason why
life got started long ago.
We're also lucky that Earth's
atmosphere has plenty of
nitrogen and oxygen, two
other things that life needs.

G It may not feel like it but

the ground under your
feet is actually moving
very, very fast. The
Earth's surface is rotating
about its axis at 1,532
feet per second at the
equator, and the planet
zips around the sun at
more than 18 miles per
second! So all of us are
going incredibly fast -even when we're standing
still.

THE LOW DOWN ON MARS

G The fourth planet from the sun
has always made us humans
do a lot wondering and hoping.
While scientists haven't proven
there's any life on Mars, the
dusty red planet is still a
fascinating place.
G The surface of Mars is more
interesting than most. Like
Mercury, Venus and Earth,
Mars is mostly rock and metal,
but it also has lots of
mountains and craters.

G The dust that gives Mars the

reddish color is made of
something called iron oxide.
Temperatures on Mars can get
as cold as -207 degrees
Fahrenheit and as high as 80
degrees Fahrenheit on
summer days.
G Mars was probably warm and
wet about 3.7 billion years ago.
Mars cooled and the water
froze. Some of that water still
may exist in ice caps at the
poles.

SATURN
G Diameter: 74,900 miles
G Time to rotate completely: 10
hours, 39 minutes
G It takes 29.5 years for saturn
to orbit the sun.
G The sixth planet from the sun
has a rocky core and a lot of
gas on its surface. But Saturn
is known for its rings. The
mile-thick rings are made of
tons and tons of ice that orbit
the planet. Some of the ice
bits are smaller than marbles,
some are bigger than your
computer.
G Saturn has 18 known moons,
each made mostly of ice and
rock.

MARS
G The diameter of Mars is 4,217
miles.
G It takes 24 hours and 37
minutes for it to rotate 360
degrees completely.
G It takes 687 days for mars to
completely orbit the sun.
G It only has 5% of the mass that
the earth has.
G It has 53% of the earths
diameter.
G Its 150% further away from
the sun than the moon is.

JUPITER
G Jupiter weighs over 316
times as much as the
earth.
G It is also 11.12 times
larger than the earth.
G The fifth planet from the
sun is mostly a huge ball
of gas. But at Jupiter's
center is a core of rock
many times the mass of
Earth. The whole planet
is so massive it could
hold all the other planets
put together!

URANUS

GThe diameter of Uranus is 31,763 miles long.

GIt takes the planet 17 hours and 54 minutes to turn 360 degrees.
GIt takes 84 years for uranus to orbit the sun.
GIt weighs 14.5 times as much as the earth
GIt is 4.1 times heavier than the earth
GThe seventh planet from the sun is a lot like its neighbors, with a cloudy
surface, rapid winds, and small rocky core.
GUranus rotates at an extreme tilt of 98 degrees, sort of on its side. This
causes one pole to point toward the sun for decades, giving the planet
strange seasons. Scientists think the planet might be on its side because
some other large object crashed into it a long time ago.

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NEPTUNE
G

The eighth planet from the sun

(well, some of the time it's eighth,
but more on that later) has a rocky
core surrounded by ice, hydrogen,
helium and methane.
Like the other gas planets,
Neptune has rapidly swirling
winds. Its quick rotation causes
fierce winds and some very strong
storms. The planet has eight
known moons. Like Saturn,
Neptune has rings. But Neptune's
rings are not as thick, and they are
hard to spot.
Neptune was discovered in 1846.

Pulsar
G A neutron star that
produces radio waves

Protostar
G A contracting cloud of
gas and dust the
earliest stage of a
stars life.

PLUTO
G
G
G

The mass of pluto is .2% of the earth.

The diameter is only 18% of what the
earths is.
Pluto, which is smaller than our moon,
is a cold, dark, frozen place. We don't
know very much about the tiny planet.
Scientists think it is made of rock and
ice. It might have a thin atmosphere of
nitrogen, carbon monoxide and
methane.
Some astronomers think Pluto may
have wandered into the system from a
more distant place called the Kuiper
Belt. In the Kuiper Belt, Pluto-like
objects and comets orbit the sun. So
maybe Pluto is not a planet at all, but
more like a large asteroid or comet.
Some scientists say Pluto may be an
old moon of Neptune that escaped.

Nebula
G A large amount of gas
and dust in space
spreaded out in an
immense volume

White Dwarf
G The remaining hot
core of a star after its
outer layers have
expanded and drifted
out into space.

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Supernova
G The explosion of a
dying giant or
supergiant star.

Black Hole
G The remains of an
extremely massive
star pulled into a
small volume by
the force of
gravity.

Binary Star
G A star system that
contains two stars.

Neutron Star
A tiny star that remains
after a supernova
explosion.

Quasar
G A distant galaxy with
a black hole at its
center.

Eclipsing Binary
G A star system in
which one star
periodically blocks
light from another.

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Spiral Galaxy
G A galaxy whose arms
curve outward in a
pinwheel pattern

Irregular Galaxy

Elliptical Galaxy
G A galaxy shaped like
a flattened ball
containing only old
stars.

In one version, from the Greeks is, Artemis, the goddess of hunting and the moon fell in
love with Orion. She was so entranced by him, she forgot her divinely duty of illuminating
the night sky. Her twin brother Apollo, seeing Orion swimming in the sea, dared his sister
to strike what only appeared to be a spot on the waves. Not knowing it was Orion,
Artemis shot an arrow and killed him. Later, when she found out what she did, she placed
his body among the stars. The grief she felt explains why the moon looks so sad at night.

G A galaxy that does

not have a regular
shape.

Virgo sometimes she has been known as Astraeia,

daughter of Astraeus and Eos. She was the Roman
goddess of justice, who finally sickened of the wars of men
and left for the heavens.

Little bear has a long tail because of its

being held by the tail and spun around the
pole.

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Heracles, the most famous Greek hero. The ancient Romans called him Hercules. Heracles was a
courageous and very strong man. Unfortunately, Heracles had a terrible enemy: the goddess Hera.
Hera was so annoyed by Heracles' strength and fame that she cast a spell over him. As a result, he
committed a terrible crime. Seeking forgiveness, Heracles was told to perform twelve very difficult
tasks for the king

This constellation is called The Big Dipper or in

our country The Plough.

Leo the Lion

Cygnus the Swan

Delphinus the Dolphin