All About Planets By: Maggie Watts

Mercury

This planet is not large enough for its gravity to hold onto a moon or much of an atmosphere.

Venus.

The surface is hot (869F) and the atmosphere is dense and contains carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid.

Earth

This planet has volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Sunlight, a nitrogen and oxygen-rich atmosphere, large oceans and the greenhouse effect make climates that supports life.

Mars

The largest canyon in the solar system, Valles Marineris, as wide as the United States, might have had running water. Largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons.

Asteroids

A wide belt of small objects that orbit the sun between Mars and Jupiter. Sometimes they are called minor planets. They might be remains of a planet pulled apart or leftovers from the formation of the solar system.

Jupiter

The largest planet has an atmosphere of cold hydrogen gas. It has many moons, so far 17 have been found. It has a giant red spot that is thought to be a storm.

Saturn

Mostly gas, but less dense, making it very light that it could float on water. It has 18 moons. It is known for its beautiful rings which are made up of millions of bits of ice.

Uranus

Atmosphere of methane gas and a set of dark, narrow rings that run from top to bottom, instead of around.

Neptune

Is the bluest planet because of its methane gas atmosphere. Its moon, Triton, has volcanoes.

Pluto

Does not have a thick atmosphere. Has one moon called Charon, discovered in No longer considered a planet, but a minor planet.

Comets

These are chunks of ice and rock left over from the formation of our solar system. They move around the sun in long oval-shaped orbits.

Meteoroids

Part of the dust and gas trail left behind by a comet.

Meteors

Parts or pieces of meteoroids that stream into our atmosphere from space. Often not bigger than a grain of sand, causing a flash of light, sometimes called shooting stars.

Meteorite

A piece of rock that falls and lands on the earth from space.

SETI

Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Message beamed into space by world’s biggest radio telescope at Arecivo, Puerto Rico (1992) Coded information

What is the relationship between comets and meteors??

Meteors were once meteoroids (pieces of dust and rocks) found in the tail of the comets, but have fallen to Earth.