The Sky Above Us By, Owen Abrams

Time for the inner planets

The SUN The Star

The Sun The Sun is a middle aged star, it is about 4.6 billion years old. It accounts for 99 percent of the mass in the Solar System. The Sun takes 250 million years to complete one revolution around the Galaxy. The Sun is composed of 92.1 percent hydrogen, 7.8 percent helium, and 0.1 percent trace of elements like Iron, Carbon, and Uranium. The surface of the Sun averages about 10,000°F (5500°C). The Sun has a huge magnetic field that reverses direction every 11 years.

Mercury Rocky Planet

Mercury Because it orbits so closely to the Sun, this planet is usually lost in the Sun’s glare. One day on Mercury is 176 Earth days long. Mercury is 35,985,125 miles away from the Sun. Mercury’s surface temperature is 800°F. Mercury’s axis doesn’t tilt, so the Sun shines directly on the equator. Mercury’s meteor crater is 960 miles wide.

Venus Rocky Planet

Venus Venus’s surface temperature is 880°F. Wind speed on Venus is 200 MPH. Until the 1950s, scientists believed Venus was a world covered in swamps. 42 miles into Venus’s mantle is -45°F. Almost 170 of Venus’s volcanos are more than 60 miles wide. 80 percent of Venus’s plains are volcanic.

earth Rocky Planet

Earth Earth’s distance from the Sun is 92,956,050 miles. Earth travels around the Sun at 66,700 MPH. Earth spins on its axis at 1,000 MPH. Earth was formed 4.6 billion years ago out of a giant star explosion. 4.5 billion years ago, an object about the size of Mars slammed into Earth. Earth’s atmosphere is 80 percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen.

mars Rocky Planet

Mars Mars is half the size of Earth. Mars has gigantic volcanos on its surface that grow to a hundred times larger than it does on Earth. Mars has the largest canyon in the Solar System, the Valles Marinaris. Mars has a crater that is 53 miles across. Mars’s moons Phobos and Deimos are captured asteroids. Mars’s rocky interior doesn’t contain metal.

cERES The Dwarf Planet

Ceres Ceres is about 585 miles in diameter. Ceres was discovered in 1801. Ceres lies deep in the Asteroid Belt.

Now it is time for the outer planets

Jupiter Gas Giant

Jupiter Winds on Jupiter are as fast as 400 MPH. Jupiter’s length of a day is 9.9 Earth hours. Jupiter’s length of a year is 11.9 Earth years. Jupiter is not round. Composed to 90 percent hydrogen and 10 percent helium. Jupiter’s mantle is 18,000°F

Saturn Gas Giant

Saturn Saturn’s length of a day is 10 Earth hours Saturn’s length of a year is 30 Earth years. The diameter of its rings together span some 175,000 miles. Like Jupiter, Saturn has no surface to walk on. Saturn spins very quickly on its axis every 10 hours and 14 years. Every 15 years the rings change.

Uranus Gas Giant

Uranus Uranus’s distance from the Sun is 1,783,744,300 miles. Uranus’s length of a day is 17.9 Earth hours. Uranus’s length of a year is 84 Earth years. It is 31,500 miles in diameter. It is 357°F on Uranus. Two of its largest moons are Oberon and Titania.

Neptune Gas Giant

Neptune It is -350°F on Neptune. Neptune’s length of a day is 16 Earth hours. Neptune’s length of a year is 164.8 Earth years. Neptune’s diameter is 30,775 miles. Neptune has a Great Dark Spot, just like Jupiter but not red. Neptune has 13 known moons.