A CLOSER LOOK AT THE PLANETS

My Very Energetic Mother Just Served Us Noodles! IN ORDER FROM THE SUN MERCURY VENUS EARTH MARS JUPITER SATURN URANUS NEPTUNE My Very Energetic Mother Just Served Us Noodles!

MERCURY Smallest planet Heavily cratered No moons No atmosphere to trap heat so temps can be -180oC at night and rise to 400oC during the day!

MERCURY con’t It takes 88 days to revolves around the sun. It take 59 days to spin once on its axis.

THE MESSENGER Launched in 2004 and settled into orbit around Mercury in March 2011. Reached speeds of 225,300km/h. It was a 7.9 billion km journey. It is taking photos and measurements.

VENUS Brightest object in the sky after the sun and moon. Thick poisonous CO2 and sulfuric acid atmosphere. No moons Nearly the same size as Earth (“sister” planets). Hottest planet.

VENUS con’t Takes 225 days to revolve around the sun. Takes 243 days to spin once on its axis. It spins backwards compared to all other planets. Has a volcano bigger than Mt. Everest!

MAGELLAN Took many pictures and measurements in the early 1990’s. Was purposely crash landed on Venus and became non-operational. There have been dozens of other attempts to reach and study Venus but so far they have failed.

EARTH The only planet with large amounts of water on its surface (> 70%). The thick atmosphere keeps temperatures in a live-able range. Only known planet with living things.

EARTH con’t Has one moon (Luna) which is responsible for our ocean tides. Takes 365.25 days to revolve around the sun. Takes 23.96 hours to spin once on its axis.

MARS Called the RED PLANET. Named after the God of War (Romans thought the red must be bloodshed). Very cold and thin atmosphere. 2 moons (Phobos & Deimos) Ice covers the poles.

MARS con’t Signs that there were once: volcanoes, glaciers and floods. Takes 687 days to revolve around the sun. Takes 24.7 hours to spin once on its axis.

MARS ROVER There have been 3 Mars Rovers that have landed and travelled terrain on the planet. “Curiosity” landed in the summer of 2012. http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/overview/

JUPITER The largest planet made of mostly hydrogen and helium up to 10,000 miles deep. Known for its GREAT RED SPOT, which is a giant hurricane 3 times the size of Earth! It has existed for hundreds of years and shows no signs of slowing down.

JUPITER con’t At least 60 moons! The four largest moons are: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Calisto. Takes 12 years to revolve around the sun. Takes 9.8 hours to spin once on its axis.

SATURN Made up of mostly hydrogen and helium. Surrounded by thousands of rings. There is debate over how the rings formed. Has more than 30 moons (most are ice covered).

SATURN con’t Largest moon is TITAN. It is the only moon in the solar system to have an atmosphere composed of mostly nitrogen. Titan is bigger than Mercury. Takes 29.5 years to revolve around the sun. Takes 10.2 hours to spin once on its axis.

URANUS Another ringed planet made of many gases. 11 thin rings of some unknown black material. Said to be “lying on its side” because its axis of rotation is in nearly the same plane as its orbit.

URANUS con’t At least 16 moons (5 large and 11 small). Takes 83.8 years to revolve around the sun. Takes 17.9 hours to spin once on its axis. It also spins backwards compared to the other planets.

NEPTUNE Was mistaken for a star for hundreds of years… cannot be seen without a telescope. Has 2 rings. Methane gives it a bluish tint. Named after the Roman God of the Sea.

NEPTUNE con’t Has 8 moons. Triton is the largest and is the coldest measured object in our Solar System. Takes 164 years to revolve around the sun. Takes 19.1 hours to spin once on its axis.

PLUTO – NOT A PLANET! Removed from planets list in 2004 by NASA. Smaller than our moon. Basically an ice ball with some rock and methane.

PLUTO con’t Has one moon named Charon which is 40% of the planets size! Takes 248 years to revolve around the sun. Takes 6.4 days to spin once on its axis.