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Mercury

Mercury (planet), second-smallest of the planets in the solar system. Mercury orbits closest to the Sun of all the planets, at an average distance of approximately 58 million km (about 36 million mi). The planets diameter is 4,879 km (3,032 mi), and its volume and mass are about oneeighteenth that of Earth. Mercurys mean density, 5.4 g/cm, is nearly as great as that of Earth and is higher than that of any of the other planets. The force of gravity on the planet's surface is about one-third of that on Earth's surface or about twice the surface gravity on the Moon. Mercury has no moons of its own. Mercury revolves once about the Sun every 87.97 days. Radar observations of the planet show that it rotates only once every 58.65 days, two-thirds of its period of revolution. Only three of the planets days, therefore, occur during every two of its years. The side facing the Sun gets very hot, while the side facing away quickly cools to frigid temperatures. Mercury was named for the messenger of the gods in Roman mythology.

Venus

Venus (planet), one of the planets in the solar system, the second in distance from the Sun. Except for the Sun and the Moon, Venus is the brightest object in the sky. The planet was named for the Roman goddess of beauty. It is often called the morning star when it appears in the east at sunrise, and the evening star when it is in the west at sunset. In ancient times the evening star was called Hesperus and the morning star Phosphorus or Lucifer. Because the planet orbits closer to the Sun than Earth does, Venus seems to either precede or trail the Sun in the sky. Venus is never visible more than three hours before sunrise or three hours after sunset. Venus is the brightest object in our sky, after the sun and moon. Swirling clouds of sulfur and sulfuric acid obscure Venuss surface and inhibited study of the planet from Earth until technology permitted space vehicles, outfitted with probes, to visit it. These probes determined that Venus is the hottest of the planets, with a surface temperature of about 460 C (about 860 F). Scientists believe that a greenhouse effect causes the extreme temperature, hypothesizing that the planets thick clouds and dense atmosphere trap energy from the sun.

Earth

Earth (planet), one of nine planets in the solar system, the only planet known to harbor life, and the home of human beings. From space Earth resembles a big blue marble with swirling white clouds floating above blue oceans. About 71 percent of Earths surface is covered by water, which is essential to life. The rest is land, mostly in the form of continents that rise above the oceans. Earths surface is surrounded by a layer of gases known as the atmosphere, which extends upward from the surface, slowly thinning out into space. Below the surface is a hot interior of rocky material and two core layers composed of the metals nickel and iron in solid and liquid form. Unlike the other planets, Earth has a unique set of characteristics ideally suited to supporting life as we know it. It is neither too hot, like Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, nor too cold, like distant Mars and the even more distant outer planetsJupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and tiny Pluto. Earths atmosphere includes just the right amount of gases that trap heat from the Sun, resulting in a moderate climate suitable for water to exist in liquid form. The atmosphere also helps block radiation from the Sun that would be harmful to life. Earths atmosphere distinguishes it from the planet Venus, which is otherwise much like Earth. Venus is about the same size and mass as Earth and is also neither too near nor too far from the Sun. But because Venus has too much heat-trapping carbon dioxide in its atmosphere, its surface is extremely hot462C (864F)hot enough to melt lead and too hot for life to exist.

Mars

Mars (planet), one of the planets in the solar system, it is the fourth planet from the Sun and orbits the Sun at an average distance of about 228 million km (about 141 million mi). Mars is named for the Roman god of war and is sometimes called the red planet because it appears fiery red in Earths night sky. Mars is a relatively small planet, with about half the diameter of Earth and about one-tenth Earths mass. The force of gravity on the surface of Mars is about one-third of that on Earth. Mars has twice the diameter and twice the surface gravity of Earths Moon. The surface area of Mars is almost exactly the same as the surface area of the dry land on Earth. Mars is believed to be about the same age as Earth, having formed from the same spinning, condensing cloud of gas and dust that formed the Sun and the other planets about 4.6 billion years ago. The Martian daythat is, the time it takes Mars to rotate once on its axisis about a half an hour longer than an Earth day and is sometimes called a sol. Its year, or the time it takes to revolve once around the Sun, is about two Earth years long. Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are named after the dogs of the Roman god Mars. These tiny bodies are heavily cratered, dark chunks of rock and may be asteroids captured by the gravitational pull of Mars. Phobos orbits Mars once in less than one Martian day, so it appears to rise in the west and set in the east, usually twice each day. Deimos has the more ordinary habit of rising in the east and setting in the west.

Jupiter

Jupiter (planet), fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet in the solar system. The fourth brightest object in Earths sky, after the Sun, the Moon, and Venus, Jupiter is more than three times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star. Due to its prominence in the sky, the Romans named the planet for their chief god, Jupiter. Jupiter orbits the Sun at an average distance of 778 million km (484 million mi), which is about five times the distance from Earth to the Sun. Jupiters year, or the time it takes to complete an orbit about the Sun, is 11.9 Earth years, and its day, or the time it takes to rotate on its axis, is about 9.9 hours, less than half an Earth day. Unlike the rocky inner planets of the solar system (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars), Jupiter is a ball of dense gas and has no solid surface. Jupiter may have a core composed of rock-forming minerals like those trapped in comet ices, but the core makes up less than 5 percent of the planets mass. The force of gravity at the level of the highest clouds in Jupiters atmosphere is about 2.5 times the force of gravity at Earths surface. Gas and clouds in Jupiters atmosphere travel at high speeds. This phenomenon is not fully understood but it is related to the planets high rate of rotation. These gases and clouds travel faster at the equator than at higher latitudes. The gases and clouds of the atmosphere are thrown outward as the planet rotates, similar to the manner in which mud is thrown outward from a spinning wheel. The balance between gravity and this outward force, which is proportional to the rotational speed of the atmosphere, noticeably distorts the planets round shape. Higher speed at the equator produces greater outward force, causing an equatorial bulge, whereas lower speed at the poles gives gravity the edge, leading to polar flattening. Jupiters equatorial diameter is 143,000 km (89,000 mi), 6.5 percent larger that the polar diameter of 133,700 km (83,000 mi).

Saturn

Saturn (planet), sixth planet in order of distance from the Sun, and the second largest in the solar system. The Romans named the planet after their god of agriculture. Saturn's most distinctive feature is its ring system, which was first seen in 1610 by Italian scientist Galileo, using one of the first telescopes. He did not understand that the rings were separate from the body of the planet, so he described them as handles (ansae). The Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens was the first to describe the rings correctly. In 1655, desiring further time to verify his explanation without losing his claim to priority, Huygens wrote a series of letters in code, which when properly arranged formed a Latin sentence that read in translation, It is girdled by a thin flat ring, nowhere touching, inclined to the ecliptic. The rings are named in order of their discovery, and from the planet outward they are known as the D, C, B, A, F, G, and E rings. These rings are now known to comprise more than 100,000 individual ringlets, each of which circles the planet.

Uranus

Uranus (planet), major planet in the solar system, seventh planet from the Sun. Uranus revolves outside the orbit of Saturn and inside the orbit of Neptune (see Solar System). The average distance from Uranus to the Sun is 2,860 million km (1,780 million mi). Uranus has an inner rocky core that is surrounded by a vast ocean of water mixed with rocky material. From the core, this ocean extends upward until it meets an atmosphere of hydrogen, helium, and methane. Uranus has 11 known rings and 27 confirmed moons. The mass of Uranus is 14.54 times greater than the mass of Earth, and its volume is 67 times greater than that of Earth. The force of gravity at the surface of Uranus is 1.17 times the force of gravity on Earth. Because of its great size and mass, scientists classify Uranus as one of the giant or Jovian (like Jupiter) planetsalong with Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune. Uranus was the first planet that people discovered by using a telescope. Sir William Herschel, a German-born British musician and astronomer, discovered the planet in 1781. Herschel accidentally discovered it while measuring shifts in the positions of stars in the constellation Gemini. He observed that Uranus is a moving object, so he first reported his discovery to the British Royal Society as a comet. However, people had observed and plotted Uranus on star charts dating back to 1690 (believing it was a star). Astronomers used these earlier observations to identify the object as a planet and to establish its orbit. Herschel originally named the planet Georgium Sidus (Star of George) in honor of King George III of Great Britain. Later, astronomers named the planet after Uranus, a figure who embodied the heavens and was the father of Saturn and the grandfather of Jupiter in Greek and Roman mythology.

Neptune

Neptune (planet), major planet in the solar system, eighth planet from the Sun and fourth largest in diameter. Neptune maintains an almost constant distance, about 4,490 million km (about 2,790 million mi), from the Sun. Neptune revolves outside the orbit of Uranus and for most of its orbit moves inside the elliptical path of the outermost planet Pluto (see Solar System). Every 248 years, Plutos elliptical orbit brings the planet inside Neptunes nearly circular orbit for about 20 years, temporarily making Neptune the farthest planet from the Sun. The last time Plutos orbit brought it inside Neptunes orbit was in 1979. In 1999 Plutos orbit carried it back outside Neptunes orbit. Astronomers believe Neptune has an inner rocky core that is surrounded by a vast ocean of water mixed with rocky material. From the inner core, this ocean extends upward until it meets a gaseous atmosphere of hydrogen, helium, and trace amounts of methane. Neptune has four rings and 11 known moons. Even though Neptune's volume is 72 times Earths volume, its mass is only 17.15 times Earths mass. Because of its size, scientists classify Neptunealong with Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranusas one of the giant or Jovian planets (so-called because they resemble Jupiter). Mathematical theories of astronomy led to the discovery of Neptune. To account for wobbles in the orbit of the planet Uranus, British astronomer John Couch Adams and French astronomer Urbain Jean Joseph Leverrier independently calculated the existence and position of a new planet in 1845 and 1846, respectively. They theorized that the gravitational attraction of this planet for Uranus was causing the wobbles in Uranuss orbit. Using information from Leverrier, German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle first observed the planet in 1846. After its discovery, Leverrier proposed that the new planet be named after the sea god Neptune from Greek and Roman mythology. The appropriateness of this name was confirmed in the 20th century when astronomers learned about Neptunes watery interior.

The Solar System

The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects bound to it by gravity, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. Of the many objects that orbit the Sun, most of the mass is contained within eight relatively solitary planets whose orbits are almost circular and lie within a nearly flat disc called the ecliptic plane. The four smaller inner planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, also called the terrestrial planets, are primarily composed of rock and metal. The four outer planets, the gas giants, are substantially more massive than the terrestrials. The two largest, Jupiter and Saturn, are composed mainly of hydrogen and helium; the two outermost planets, Uranus and Neptune, are composed largely of ices, such as water, ammonia and methane, and are often referred to separately as "ice giants".

Submitted to: Maam Rachel D. De Ramos Submitted by: Van Joshua M. Legaspi

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