Order Of the Planets From The Sun - Universe Today Universe Today Order Of the Planets From The Sun Article Updated: 31 Jan , 2016 by Nancy Atkinson First the quick facts: Our Solar System has eight “official” planets which orbit the Sun. Here are the planets listed in order of their distance from the Sun: Mercury , Venus , Earth , Mars , Jupiter , Saturn , Uranus , and Neptune . An easy mnemonic for remembering the order is “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles.” If you add in the dwarf planets, Ceres is located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, while the remaining dwarf planets are in the outer Solar System and in order from the Sun are Pluto , Haumea , Makemake , and Eris . There is, as yet, a bit of indecision about the Trans-Neptunian Objects known as Orcus , Quaoar , 2007 O10 , and Sedna and their inclusion in the dwarf planet category.

A mnemonic for this list would be “My Very Educated Mother Could Just Serve Us Noodles, Pie, Ham, Muffins, and Eggs” (and Steak, if Sedna is included.) You can find more tricks for remembering the order of the planets at our detailed article here. Now, let’s look at a few details including the definition of a planet and a dwarf planet, as well as details about each of the planets in our Solar System. Artistic impression of the Solar System, with all known terrestrial planets, as giants, and dwarf planets. Credit: NASA What is a planet? In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) decided on the definition of a planet. The definition states that in our Solar System, a planet is a celestial body which: is in orbit around the Sun, has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic equilibrium (a nearly round shape), has “cleared the neighborhood” around its orbit. is not a moon. This means that Pluto, which was considered to be the farthest planet since its discovery in 1930, now is classified as a dwarf planet.

The change in the definition came after the discovery three bodies that were all similar to Pluto in terms of size and orbit, (Quaoar in 2002, Sedna in 2003, and Eris in 2005). With advances in equipment and techniques, astronomers knew that more objects like Pluto would very likely be discovered, and so the number of planets in our Solar System would start growing quickly. It soon became clear that either they all had to be called planets or Pluto and bodies like it would have to be reclassified. With much controversy then and since, Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006. This also reclassified the asteroid Ceres as a dwarf planet, too, and so the first five recognized dwarf planets are Ceres, Pluto, Eris, Makemake and Haumea. Scientists believe there may be dozens more dwarf planets awaiting discovery.

Later, in 2008, the IAU announced the subcategory of dwarf planets with trans-Neptunian orbits would be known as “plutoids.” Said the IAU, “Plutoids are celestial bodies in orbit around the Sun at a distance greater than that of Neptune that have sufficient mass for their self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that they assume a hydrostatic equilibrium (near-spherical) shape, and that have not cleared the neighborhood around their orbit.” This subcategory includes Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris. The Planets in our Solar System: Having covered the basics of definition and classification, let’s get talking about those celestial bodies in our Solar System that are still classified as planets (sorry Pluto!). Here is a brief look at the eight planets in our Solar System. Included are quick facts and links so you can find out more about each planet. Mercury: Mercury is the closest planet to our Sun, at just 58 million km (36 million miles) or 0.39 Astronomical Unit (AU) out.

But despite its reputation for being sun-baked and molten, it is not the hottest planet in our Solar System (scroll down to find out who that dubious honor goes go!) Mercury, as imaged by the MESSENGER spacecraft, revealing parts of the never seen by human eyes. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington Mercury is also the smallest planet in our Solar System, and is also smaller than its largest moon (Ganymede, which orbits Jupiter). And being equivalent in size to 0.38 Earths, it is just slightly larger than the Earth’s own Moon. But this may have something to do with its incredible density, being composed primarily of rock and iron ore. Here are the planetary facts: Diameter: 4,879 km (3,032 miles) Mass: 3.3011 x 1023 kg (0.055 Earths) Length of Year (Orbit): 87.97 Earth days Length of Day: 59 Earth days. Mercury is a rocky planet, one of the four “terrestrial planets” in our Solar System.

Mercury has a solid, cratered surface, and looks much like Earth’s moon. If you weigh 45 kg (100 pounds) on Earth, you would weigh 17 kg (38 pounds) on Mercury. Mercury does not have any moons. Temperatures on Mercury range between -173 to 427 degrees Celcius (-279 to 801 degrees Fahrenheit) Just two spacecraft have visited Mercury: Mariner 10 in 1974-75 and MESSENGER, which flew past Mercury three times before going into orbit around Mercury in 2011 and ended its mission by impacting the surface of Mercury on April 30, 2015. MESSENGER has changed our understanding of this planet, and scientists are still studying the data. Find more details about Mercury at this article on Universe Today, and this page from NASA. Venus: Venus is the second closest planet to our Sun, orbiting at an average distance of 108 million km (67 million miles) or 0.72 AU. Venus is often called Earth’s “sister planet,” as it is just a little smaller than Earth.

Venus is 81.5% as massive as Earth, and has 90% of its surface area and 86.6% of its volume. The surface gravity, which is 8.87 m/s², is equivalent to 0.904 g – roughly 90% of the Earth standard. A radar view of Venus taken by the Magellan spacecraft, with some gaps filled in by the Pioneer Venus orbiter. Credit: NASA/JPL And due to its thick atmosphere and proximity to the Sun, it is the Solar Systems hottest planet, with temperatures reaching up to a scorching 735 K (462 °C). To put that in perspective, that’s over four and a half times the amount of heat needed to evaporate water, and about twice as much needed to turn tin into molten metal (231.9 °C)!

Diameter: 7,521 miles (12,104 km) Mass: 4.867 x 1024 kg (0.815 Earth mass) Length of Year (Orbit): 225 days Length of day: 243 Earth days Surface temperature: 462 degrees C (864 degrees F) Venus’ thick and toxic atmosphere is made up mostly of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen (N2), with clouds of sulfuric acid (H2SO4) droplets. Venus has no moons. Venus spins backwards (retrograde rotation), compared to the other planets. This means that the sun rises in the west and sets in the east on Venus. If you weigh 45 kg (100 pounds) on Earth, you would weigh 41 kg (91 pounds) on Venus. Venus is also known and the “morning star” or “evening star” because it is often brighter than any other object in the sky and is usually seen either at dawn or at dusk. Since it is so bright, it has often been mistaken for a UFO! More than 40 spacecraft have explored Venus.

The Magellan mission in the early 1990s mapped 98 percent of the planet’s surface. Find out more about all the missions here. Find out more about Venus on this article from Universe Today , and this page from NASA. Earth: Our home, and the only planet in our Solar System (that we know of) that actively supports life. Our planet is the third from the our Sun, orbiting it at an average distance of 150 million km (93 million miles) from the Sun, or one AU. Given the fact that Earth is where we originated, and has all the necessary prerequisites for supporting life, it should come as no surprise that it is the metric on which all others planets are judged. Earth, pictured by the crew of the Apollo 17 mission. Credit: NASA Whether it is gravity (g), distance (measured in AUs), diameter, mass, density or volume, the units are either expressed in terms of Earth’s own values (with Earth having a value of 1) or in terms of equivalencies – i.e. 0.89 times the size of Earth.

Here’s a rundown of the kinds of Diameter: 12,760 km (7,926 miles) Mass: 5.97 x 1024 kg Length of Year (Orbit): 365 days Length of day: 24 hours (more precisely, 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds.) Surface temperature: Average is about 14 C, (57 F), with ranges from -88 to 58 (min/max) C (-126 to 136 F). Earth is another terrestrial planet with an ever-changing surface, and 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered in oceans. Earth has one moon. Earth’s atmosphere is 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% various other gases. Earth is the only world known to harbor life. Find out more about Earth at a series of articles found here on Universe Today , and on this webpage from NASA. Mars: Mars is the fourth planet from the sun at a distance of about 228 million km (142 million miles) or 1.52 AU.

It is also known as “the Red Planet” because of its reddish hue, which is due to the prevalence of iron oxide on its surface. In many ways, Mars is similar to Earth, which can be seen from its similar rotational period and tilt, which in turn produce seasonal cycles that are comparable to our own. Global image of the planet Mars. Credit: NASA The same holds true for surface features. Like Earth, Mars has many familiar surface features, which include volcanoes, valleys, deserts, and polar ice caps. But beyond these, Mars and Earth have little in common. The Martian atmosphere is too thin and the planet too far from our Sun to sustain warm temperatures, which average 210 K (-63 ºC) and fluctuate considerably. Diameter: 6,787 km, (4,217 miles) Mass: 6.4171 x 1023 kg (0.107 Earths) Length of Year (Orbit): 687 Earth days. Length of day: 24 hours 37 minutes.

Surface temperature: Average is about -55 C (-67 F), with ranges of -153 to +20 °C (-225 to +70 °F) Mars is the fourth terrestrial planet in our Solar System. Its rocky surface has been altered by volcanoes, impacts, and atmospheric effects such as dust storms. Mars has a thin atmosphere made up mostly of carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen (N2) and argon (Ar).If you weigh 45 kg (100 pounds) on Earth, you would weigh 17 kg (38 pounds) on Mars. Mars has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos. Mars is known as the Red Planet because iron minerals in the Martian soil oxidize, or rust, causing the soil to look red. More than 40 spacecraft have been launched to Mars. You can find out more about missions to Mars here. Find out more about Mars at this series of articles on Universe Today , and at this NASA webpage. Jupiter: Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun, at a distance of about 778 million km (484 million miles) or 5.2 AU.

Jupiter is also the most massive planet in our Solar System, being 317 times the mass of Earth, and two and half times larger than all the other planets combined. It is a gas giant, meaning that it is primarily composed of hydrogen and helium, with swirling clouds and other trace gases. Io and Jupiter as seen by New Horizons during its 2008 flyby. (Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University APL/SWRI). Jupiter’s atmosphere is the most intense in the Solar System. In fact, the combination of incredibly high pressure and coriolis forces produces the most violent storms ever witnessed. Wind speeds of 100 m/s (360 km/h) are common and can reach as high as 620 km/h (385 mph). In addition, Jupiter experiences auroras that are both more intense than Earth’s, and which never stop.

Diameter: 428,400 km (88,730 miles) Mass: 1.8986 × 1027 kg (317.8 Earths) Length of Year (Orbit): 11.9 Earth years Length of day: 9.8 Earth hours Temperature: -148 C, (-234 F) Jupiter has 67 known moons, with an additional 17 moons awaiting confirmation of their discovery – for a total of 67 moons. Jupiter is almost like a mini solar system! Jupiter has a faint ring system, discovered in 1979 by the Voyager 1 mission. If you weigh 45 kg (100 pounds) on Earth, you would weigh 115 kg (253) pounds on Jupiter. Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is a gigantic storm (bigger than Earth) that has been raging for hundreds of years. However, it appears to be shrinking in recent years. Many missions have visited Jupiter and its system of moons, with the latest being the Juno mission will arrive at Jupiter in 2016. You can find out more about missions to Jupiter here.

Saturn’s relatively thin main rings are about 250,000 km (156,000 miles) in diameter. (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/J. Major) Saturn: Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun at a distance of about 1.4 billion km (886 million miles) or 9.5 AU. Like Jupiter, it is a gas giant, with layers of gaseous material surrounding a solid core. Saturn is most famous and most easily recognized for its spectacular ring system, which is made of seven rings with several gaps and divisions between them. Diameter: 120,500 km (74,900 miles) Mass: 5.6836 x 1026 kg (95.159 Earths) Length of Year (Orbit): 29.5 Earth years Length of day: 10.7 Earth hours Temperature: -178 C (-288 F) Saturn’s atmosphere is made up mostly of hydrogen (H2) and helium (He).

If you weigh 45 kg (100 pounds) on Earth, you would weigh about 48 kg (107 pounds) on Saturn Saturn has 53 known moons with an additional 9 moons awaiting confirmation. Five missions have gone to Saturn. Since 2004, Cassini has been exploring Saturn, its moons and rings. You can out more about missions to Saturn here. Find out more about Saturn at this series of articles on Universe Today and at this webpage from NASA. Uranus: Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun at a distance of about 2.9 billion km (1.8 billion miles) or 19.19 AU. Though it is classified as a “gas giant”, it is often referred to as an “ice giant” as well, owing to the presence of ammonia, methane, water and hydrocarbons in ice form. The presence of methane ice is also what gives it its bluish appearance. Uranus as seen by NASA’s Voyager 2 space probe. Credit: NASA/JPL Uranus is also the coldest planet in our Solar System, making the term “ice” seem very appropriate!

What’s more, its system of moons experience a very odd seasonal cycle, owing to the fact that they orbit Neptune’s equator, and Neptune orbits with its north pole facing directly towards the Sun. This causes all of its moons to experience 42 year periods of day and night. Diameter: 51,120 km (31,763 miles) Mass: You can find out more about Uranus at this series of articles on Universe Today and this webpage from NASA . Neptune: Neptune is the eighth and farthest planet from the Sun, at a distance of about 4.5 billion km (2.8 billion miles) or 30.07 AU. Like Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus, it is technically a gas giant, though it is more properly classified as an “ice giant” with Uranus. Neptune photographed by the Voyager 2 space probe. Credit: NASA/JPL Due to its extreme distance from our Sun, Neptune cannot be seen with the naked eye, and only one mission has ever flown close enough to get detailed images of it.

Nevertheless, what we know about it indicates that it is similar in many respects to Uranus, consisting of gases, ices, methane ice (which gives its color), and has a series of moons and faint rings. Diameter: 49,530 km (30,775 miles) Mass: 1.0243 x 1026 kg (17 Earths) Length of Year (Orbit): 165 Earth years Length of day: 16 Earth hours Temperature: -214 C (-353 F) Neptune is mostly made of a very thick, very hot combination of water (H2O), ammonia (NH3), and methane (CH4) over a possible heavier, approximately Earth-sized, solid core. Neptune’s atmosphere is made up mostly of hydrogen (H2), helium (He) and methane (CH4). Neptune has 13 confirmed moons and 1 more awaiting official confirmation. Neptune has six rings. If you weigh 45 kg (100 pounds) on Earth, you would weigh 52 kg (114 pounds) on Neptune. Neptune was the first planet to be predicted to exist by using math.

Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited Neptune. You can find out more about this mission here. Find out more about Neptune at this series of articles on Universe Today and this NASA webpage. We have written many articles about the planets for Universe Today. Here are some facts about planets , and here’s an article about the names of the planets .If you’d like more info on the Solar System planets, dwarf planets, asteroids and more, check out NASA’s Solar System exploration page , and here’s a link to NASA’s Solar System Simulator .We’ve also recorded a series of episodes of Astronomy Cast about every planet in the Solar System. Start here, Episode 49: Mercury .Venus is the second planet from the Sun, and it is the hottest planet in the Solar System due to its thick, toxic atmosphere which has been described as having a “runaway greenhouse effect” on the planet. Now you know! And if you find yourself unable to remember all the planets in their proper order, just repeat the words, “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles.” Of course, the Pie, Ham, Muffins and Eggs are optional, as are any additional courses that might be added in the coming years!

Astronomy Cast also has some cool episodes about the Solar System. Here’s Episode 68: Pluto and the Icy Outer Planets , Episode 306: Accretion Discs , and Episode 159: Planet X . Planets in our solar system Planets in our solar system NB! Please be patient, while the following pages are huge! Mercury (planet), in the solar system, the planet closest to the sun. Its mean distance from the sun is approximately 58 million km (about 36 million mi); its diameter is 4875 km (3030 mi); its volume and mass are about : that of Earth; and its mean density is approximately equal to that of Earth. Mercury revolves about the sun in a period of 88 days. Radar observations of the planet show that its period of rotation is 58.7 days, or two-thirds of its period of revolution. The planet, therefore, rotates one and a half times during each revolution. Because its surface consists of rough, porous, dark-colored rock, Mercury is a poor reflector of sunlight.

Mariner 10 also detected a magnetic field about 1 percent that of Earth, making Mercury the only other planet with density and composition close to that of Earth to have a magnetic field. Because it has a magnetic field, the outer core of the planet must be a liquid iron compound, which produces a magnetic field as it moves. Scientists believe Mercury's crust acts as an effective insulator to keep the planet's outer core liquid despite the very cold temperatures on the dark side of the planet. Spectroscopic studies indicate that only an extremely thin atmosphere, containing sodium and potassium, exists on Mercury, its atoms apparently diffusing from the crust of the planet. Collisions with other protoplanets early in the history of the solar system may have stripped away lighter materials, thereby accounting for Mercury's great density. The force of gravity on the planet's surface is about one-third of that on Earth's surface. The Mariner 10 spacecraft passed Mercury twice in 1974 and once in 1975.

It sent back pictures of a moonlike, crater-pocked surface and reported temperatures to be about 430� C (about 810� F) on the sunlit side and about -180� C (about -290� F) on the dark side. Unlike that of Earth's moon, the surface of Mercury is criss-crossed by long escarpments, or cliffs, dating perhaps from the period of contraction the planet experienced as it cooled some time early in its history. In 1991 powerful radio telescopes on Earth revealed unmistakable signals of vast sheets of ice in Mercury's polar regions, areas that had not been covered by Mariner 10. The point in Mercury's orbit at which the planet is closest to the sun (the perihelion) moves a tiny amount every orbit, but too much to be accounted for by the force of gravity from other planets. A full explanation of the changes in Mercury's perihelion was one of the first confirmations of the theory of relativity. 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 is 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 of the distances of the orbits of Venus and earth from the sun, Venus is never visible more than three hours before sunrise or three hours after sunset. When viewed through a telescope, the planet exhibits phases like the moon. Full Venus appears the smallest because it is on the far side of the sun from earth. Maximum brilliance (a stellar magnitude of -4.4, or 15 times the brightest star) is seen in the crescent phase. The phases and positions of Venus in the sky repeat with the synodic period of 1.6 years (see Time; Year). Transits across the face of the sun are rare, occurring in pairs at intervals of a little more than a century. The next two will be in 2004 and 2012.

Mars (planet) , one of the planets in the solar system, it is the fourth planet from the sun and orbits the sun at a distance of about 228 million km (about 141 million mi). Mars is named for the Roman god of war because it appears fiery red in the earth's night sky. Mars is a relatively small planet, with about half the diameter of Earth and about one-tenth Earth's 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 Earth's moon. The surface area of Mars is almost exactly the same as the surface area of the dry land on Earth. The Martian day, or the time it takes Mars to rotate once on its axis, is about a half an hour longer than an Earth day. 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. Our Solar System - Astronomy Astronomy Bibliography Our Solar System Our Solar system consists of nine planets and one Star in which our entire system revolves around, being controlled by its gravity. It also contains approximately sixty nine moons, over 10,000 mapped asteroids as well as one belt and trillions of comets. Our four largest planets contain rings and ellipses in which circle the sun. Planets such as earth have almost a perfectly circular orbit in which they rotate around the sun at the same distance in each direction, others such as Mars have a elliptical orbit which is when the orbit distance varies as it circles the sun, sometimes ranging another 100 million more or less kilometres away. The planets also are two different types of classifications, small and rocky as well as large gas giants.

When our universe and solar system was first formed the particles in the surrounding nebula circling the Proto-Sun began to collide, the nearest particles were too close to the sun and therefore too hot to form large gaseous planet to contain necessary substances for life and this is how Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. The four larger planets then formed, further away from the sun, Gas Giants containing elements such as hydrogen, helium. Separating these planets is an asteroid belt, metallic fragments not yet to form a planet which then collide to make comets. SATURN sciencemonster.com, 1997 Saturn, or the Ringed Planet is the second largest gas giant and the third largest planet in our solar system. The planet of Saturn is most famous for it's three broad rings, Ring A, B and C however these three are only visible from earth and in reality this Planet has thousands of rings that compose the larger ones. The rings are constructed of ice and rock and are thousand of miles wide, in between some rings there are large gaps, for example the Cassini division which separates rings A and B. Other elements such as ammonia and ethane as well as several others compose the rings around which circle the planet Saturn.

Even though its gaseous form makes it a light, obtal planet, the planet of Saturn’s mass is equal to the 95 x the mass of our earth. Therefore Saturn’s mass is approximately 570, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000 kg. It has a diameter of 120,533 km, its length of a day is 10 hours and 39 minutes and a year measuring to 29.4 earth years. As a gas giant Saturn has no solid surface, the reason for this is because light elements such as helium do not and will not condense in the atmosphere of space. Saturn’s atmosphere consists of 75 % hydrogen and 25% helium, elements in the atmosphere also include nitrogen, oxygen and sulphur. As a result of the sulphur this gives the planet is orange colour glow. The planet Saturn spins around at a fast rate, consequently the planet has been recorded to subsume high speed winds of up to 1800km/h.

Even so, Saturn has fewer storms than other gas giants because of it's lower inner temperature. The visible clouds of Saturn are seen above its troposphere however the temperature of Saturn is approximately -70 degrees near its upper cloud deck with the temperature measuring -180 closer to the surface. Mercury 2004 The Planet of Mercury is the first of the small rocky planets and closest to our immense sun however it still rotates 58 million km away from the ball of gas. As a result of the planet of Mercury's positioning it becomes extremely hot and it's surface can withhold temperatures up to 427 degrees Celsius On the other hand, with no atmosphere to capture the suns warmth, temperatures can reach -173 degrees Celsius at night. Mercury consists of a large iron core which therefore provides it with it's magnetic field, however, when compared to earth's is only one hundredth in strength. The time it takes for mercury to orbit the sun is 88 earth days and 59 earth days to rotate on it's own axis. It's diameter measures approximately 4 875 km and is 55% times the earth's mass. Mercury consists of no atmosphere and no moons.

Its rocky structure makes it home to thousands of basins and craters, it's largest measuring 1 300 km across and this planet is thought to be a larger version of of moon. Venus starchild.gcfs.nasa.gov, 2012 Next in line is Venus, the second closest to the sun. It's mass is 82% x earth's mass and it has a diameter of 12 104 km which is most like our planet earth's. The atmosphere of Venus is dense and majority consists of carbon dioxide in which pressure's in 100 times the pressure of earth's. This thick atmosphere gives Venus the hottest surface in our solar system as a result of the gases not allowing sunlight through, however, preventing heat going out. Venus's surface temperature has been recorded up to 470 degrees Celsius. The atmosphere of Venus also contains sulfuric acid clouds- measuring up to 70 km above it's surface- in which the sunlight is reflected off, this gives Venus it's bright appearance in which is can be seen clearly from earth. Its surface it's covered with volcanoes, expelling lava which flows throughout the rocky landscape.

Compared to Mercury there are only approximately a thousand craters, remnants and cracks from volcanoes covering the dints anyway. Two interesting facts is that Venus, in alteration to other planets, rotates backwards and takes longer to rotate on it's axis then it does to rotate around the sun! Jupiter blog.inkyfool.com, 2010 Jupiter is the largest and most enormous of all the planets in our solar system. It is most similar to our sun, consisting of mainly hydrogen and helium as well as some water, methane and ammonia. As a result of it's large gaseous form the planet of Jupiter lacks a solid surface and the outermost layers consist of hydrogen gas. As the layers become deeper the gases become more pressurised and temperatures decrease it turns into a liquid form and as the depth increases it is more of a metal liquid, metallic hydrogen. The core is a mass and body of rock with the temperature measuring three times the one of the sun's. Winds on Jupiter's surface can measure up to 500 km/h caused by the rapid spin of the planet. Through the cloud bands of the planet, oval spots can be seen which are large storms which originate from these massive wind speeds.

Jupiter has sixteen moons, its largest being Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. It's diameter is 142, 984 km and it's mass is 317.8 x the mass of earth. It's day in earth hours is 9 hours and 55 minutes and it's year is equal to 11.9 earth years. An interesting fact about Jupiter is that it was named after the most powerful Roman God and it is the largest planet in our solar system. Uranus giantwordls.rorg, 2012 Uranus was the first planet to be found in modern times, in 1781 by William Herschel.

It is also known to be called the Planet on its side as a result of it's 98 degrees tilt on its axis, in 1986 when the Voyager 2 passed by the planet it's axis was almost directly pointed at the sun (Children's Atlas of the Universe, 2000) it is believed that this was caused by a large meteor or celestial object colliding with Uranus and therefore tipping the planet onto it's side, the debris of this collision is also believed to of formed the eleven rings around Uranus. When viewed through telescopes and NASA equipment Uranus appears as a aqua coloured, dull planet, however when looked at more closely the methane in the atmosphere is what causes it's spectacular colour. While also containing helium and hydrogen in it's atmosphere, it is the methane that absorbs red sunlight and reflects the blue colour in the spectrum of the sun' s waves. Uranus is also a gas giant which means it has no solid surface, deeper down it contains water, ammonia and methane slush and finally a rocky core- about the size of earth. This planet has approximately 20 moons some of which are Miranda and Titania, its largest.

The distance from the sun is 2,871 million km and overall it is -255 degrees Celsius, although Uranus is known to be one of the coldest planets in our solar system its inner ocean can measure up to 4426 degrees Celsius. The diameter comes to approximately 51, 118 million km and it's mass measures 14.5 x that of earth's the length of one day of 17 hours and 14 minutes with the length of a year being 84.1 earth years. Neptune arcadiastreet.org, 2012 Neptune, the largest gas giant in our solar system and most similar to it's neighbour Uranus. Founded by John Adams, Urban Leverrier, Johann Galle and Heinrich d'Arrest who observed that Uranus was being affected by another planets orbit. The appearance of this planet is due to the same factors as Uranus, it's atmosphere composed of hydrogen, helium and methane give it it's blue colour as well as it's water, ammonia and methane slush constructed inside and rocky core.

Some differences however is the fact that Neptune's rotation angle isn't as extreme as Uranus' and also the fact that scientists have observed major storms within the gas giant, predicted they originate from the internal heat of Neptune's core. Neptune, unlike Uranus, has six rings, made up of ice darkened by black dust, in which are kept in place by it's moons gravitational pull. The Gas giant has eight moons some of which are Nereid and Triton. Neptunus, renamed Neptune, was copied from the name of the Roman God of the ocean, it has a diameter of 49,528 km and it's Mass is 17.2 x that of earth's As this planet was only discovered in 1846 and it's year takes 164.9 earth years it still has not had a full rotation! Plus the length of one day on Neptune is 16 hours and 7 minutes. Mars vulturemagazine.com.au, 2011 The planet of Mars is the most similar to earth, it consists of four seasons, ice caps and one full rotation is only 41 minutes longer then earth's.

As a result of these similarities scientists have been led to believe that their may also be, life on this planet. It's appearance in the night sky is a red glowing colour, this results from the planets rocky surface, mostly consisting of rusty-orange stained sand and rocks. Craters infest the southern part of Mars while the northern planes are smoother. Under the surface Mars contains a rocky mantle and further down a solid Iron Core. The Red Planet is known to have 2 Moons, Phobos and Deimos and it measures 6,780 km in diameter. The atmosphere of Mars mainly contains carbon dioxide, this light element is only 0.01% as dense as the our earth's own air. Temperatures, as a result of the carbon dioxide atmosphere allowing the sun's heat to escape( is 228 million km away from the sun), can reach -123 degrees at night and only 27 degrees Celsius during the day. The length of a year of Mars is equal to 687 earth days in total. Earth planets.findthedata.org, 2012 Earth, our planet is the third planet in our solar system and is classified under the small, rocky categories of planets.

When earth first started to take form it's volcanic planes produced large amounts of iron and nickel which then sank down to form the core. Under the continent and ocean covered surface lies a rocky mantle core, here is where convection currents-hot currents of lava rock-push continents and plates around earth. Further down liquid iron and nickel form the outer core. This planet, in some areas, is home to volcanic activity and tsunami's Oceans cover 71% of earth and this assists in keeping the temperature at a normal, comfortable rate. It is the only planet in our solar system known to have life and it flourishes with animals, people and plants. Earth's atmosphere is constructed out of 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen as well as water vapour which forms our clouds and weather. The distance from the sun is 150 million km and the diameter is 12, 756 km, quite small compared to other planets in the solar system. The mass of earth is approximately 6 X 10^24 tonnes and it's length of a day is 24 hours, length of a year 365 days, it has one moon.

Create a free website Orbit of Mars - Universe Today Universe Today by Jerry Coffey The orbit of Mars is the second most eccentric in the Solar System. Only Mercury’s orbit is more eccentric. At perihelion Mars is 206,655,215 km from the Sun and at aphelion it is 249,232,432 km distant. That is a variation of of just under 42,600,000 km. The average distance from Mars to the Sun (called the semi-major axis) is 228 million km. It takes Mars approximately 687 Earth days to complete on orbit. The orbit of a planet varies in relation to the gravitational influences of the bodies around it, so the eccentricity can change over time. AS recently as 1.35 million years ago, Mars was in a nearly circular orbit. Mars, like all planets in the Solar System, is tilted along its axis(axial tilt). For Mars, the axial tilt is about 25.19 degrees. This tilt is similar to Earth’s, so Mars has seasons like ours.

The Martian seasons are longer because a year on Mars is nearly twice as long as an Earth year. The dramatically changing distances between Mars’ aphelion and perihelion means that the seasons aren’t balanced like Earth. Mars is at its closest when its southern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun. So the southern hemisphere experiences hotter summers than the northern hemisphere. The orbit of Mars allows it to approach Earth at varying distances. It is easiest to observe when it is at its closest approach. Opposition occurs when Mars’ geocentric longitude is 180° different from the Sun’s. Opposition can occur as much as 8½ days before or after closest approach. The distance at close approach varies between about 54 and 103 million km due to their position in their orbits. The last Mars opposition was on January 29, 2010. The next will be on March 3, 2012(about 100 million km). The average time between the successive oppositions(synodic period) of Mars is 780 days.

Mars made its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years(55,758,006 km) on August 27, 2003. While this was a record, it was only slightly closer than other close approaches. The orbit of Mars is well understood and has been observed, and documented, for thousands of years. The planet’s short period of apparent retrograde motion was noted as early as 1534 B.C. After reading and understanding the planet’s orbit, you should research more about its atmosphere, gravity, and exploration. Only then will you have a grasp of a few of the mysteries surrounding the Red Planet. Here’s an article about Martian ice ages in the past , related to tilt, and another about mid-latitude glaciers on Mars. Here’s more general information about Mars. And here are some pages from NASA about the Mars Phoenix Lander mission. Finally, if you’d like to learn more about Mars in general, we have done several podcast episodes about the Red Planet at Astronomy Cast. Episode 52: Mars , and Episode 91: The Search for Water on Mars . Source:

Question: Which planet in our solar syatem is situated approximately 228 million km from the Sun?
Answer: MARS