THE SOLAR SYSTEM! By: Anna Chaney

MERCURY! Did You Know? Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. It only takes 87 days to orbit around the sun. In Roman mythology it is the goddess of commerce. It is often visible with binoculars or the unaided eye.

VENUS!! - It is the second Planet from the sun. It is the sixth largest planet. In Greek, Venus is the goddess of love and beauty. It is the brightest object in the sky . When viewed through a telescope from Earth, you can see the different phases.

-Earth is the only planet whose name did not come from the Greek or Roman mythology. -71% of Earth’s surface is made up of water. -It is the only planet where water can exist as a liquid. -Earth’s atmosphere is 77% nitrogen and 21% oxygen with traces of water, carbon dioxide and argon. EARTH!

MARS! The 4th Planet from the sun. It’s orbit is eliptical. It is the God Of War. It is also known as the Red Planet. Mars has the largest mountain in the solar system called, The Olypus Mons, rising 78,000 ft.

JUPITER! -It is the largest planet in the solar system and the 4th BIGGEST object in the sky! -Since prehistoric times it has been known at a bright “wandering star”. -Jupiter is about 10% helium and 90% hydrogen. -Jupiter’s rings is composed of an inner halo and a Gossamer ring.

SATURN! Saturn, not the car, but the planet! -The god of agriculture. -1st observed with a telescope in 1610 by Galileo. -Earth passes through Saturn’s rings every few years as Saturn goes through its orbit. -It is the least dense planet.

URANUS! -Uranus was the first planet discovered in modern times. It has only been visited one time by Voyager 2 on Jan. 24 1986. Uranus’ axis is parallel to is elliptic. It has 21 named moons and 6 unnamed moons.

-God of the Sea. -It has only been visited by one spacecraft, Voyager 2, in 1989. -It’s composition consist of various “ices” and rock with about 15% hydrogen and little helium. NEPTUNE!

THE END!