My Astronomy Project

By. Cameron KirklandPeriod 7th

Mercury (My)• Mercury is the 1st planet to the sun also the hottest.

Mercury is the smallest of the eight planets but slightly bigger the Earth’s moon. One day on Mercury is 59 Earth days because Mercury’s orbit around the sun is shorter because it is closest to the Sun. Mercury is a rocky planet, other wise known as a terrestrial planet. Mercury has a solid, cratered surface, like Earth's moon. Mercury's thin atmosphere, is composed mostly of oxygen, sodium, hydrogen, helium, and potassium. Atoms that are blasted off the surface by the solar wind and micrometeoroid impacts create Mercury's surface, or exosphere.

Venus (very)• Venus is the 2nd planet to the sun and the

brightest. Venus in most cases is called Earth’s twin because they very in similarities. One day on Venus lasts as long as 243 Earth days. Venus is apart of the rocky planets also known as terrestrials, its surface is a cratered and volcanic landscape with an atmosphere made mostly up of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, with clouds of sulfuric acid droplets. More than 40 spacecraft's have explored Venus and its surface, the Magellan mission in the early 1990s mapped 98 percent of the planet's surface.

Earth (excellent)• Earth is the 3rd planet from the Sun and the

only planet that we know of that supports life and liquid water. Earth makes a complete orbit around the sun a year in Earth time in about 365 days, a day on Earth is when it has completed a rotate on its axis. The Earth's atmosphere is made up of 78 percent nitrogen , 21 percent oxygen and 1 percent other ingredients which makes the perfect balance for us to breathe and live. Many planets have atmospheres, but only Earth's is breathable.

Mars (Mother)• Mars is the fourth planet from the sun at a

distance of about 228 million km, 142 million miles. Mars makes a complete orbit around the sun in 687 Earth days. Mars’ has a surface that has been altered by volcanoes, impacts, crustal movement, and atmospheric effects such as dust storms. Mars has a thin atmosphere made up of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and argon . About 40 spacecraft's have been to or orbited Mars and its surface the first mission made a success was Mariner 4 in 1965.

Jupiter (Just) Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun at a distance of about 778 million km which is 484 million miles. Jupiter makes a complete orbit around the sun in about 12 Earth years, 4,333 Earth days. Jupiter is a gas planet which means it has no solid surface but has a core. Jupiter's atmosphere is made up mostly of hydrogen and helium. Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a gigantic storm about the size of two to three Earths that has been raging for hundreds of years. Jupiter has a faint rings that were discovered in 1979 by the Voyager 2 mission.

Saturn (Served)Saturn is the 6th planet that orbits the Sun. Saturn makes a complete orbit around the sun a year in in 29 Earth years. Saturn is a gas-giant planet and does not have a solid surface its atmosphere is made up mostly of hydrogen and helium.Saturn has 53 known moons.Saturn has the most spectacular rings of all our solar system's planets. It is made up of seven rings with several gaps and divisions between them. Five missions have been sent to Saturn. Since 2004, Cassini has been exploring Saturn, its moons and rings. Saturn cannot support life as we know it. However, some of Saturn's moons have conditions that might support life. When Galileo Galilei looked at Saturn through a telescope in the 1600s, he noticed strange objects on each side of the planet and drew in his notes a triple-bodied planet system and then later a planet with arms or handles. The handles turned out to be the rings of Saturn.

Uranus( Us)Uranus is a gas giant and therefore does not have a solid surface. Uranus is made up of a hot dense fluid of "icy" materials, methane, and ammonia , above a small rocky core. Uranus has an atmosphere which is mostly made up of hydrogen and helium, with a small amount of methane .Uranus has 27 moons. Uranus' moons are named after characters from the works of William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope. Uranus has faint rings. The inner rings are narrow and dark and the outer rings are brightly colored. Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited Uranus. Uranus cannot support life as we know it. Like Venus, Uranus has a retrograde rotation (east to west). Unlike any of the other planets, Uranus rotates on its side, which means it spins horizontally.

Neptune (Noodles)

Neptune does not have a solid surface. Neptune is mostly made of a very thick, very hot combination of water, ammonia, and methane, heavier, approximately Earth-sized, solid core. Neptune's atmosphere is made up of mostly hydrogen, helium and methane. Neptune has 13 moons. Neptune's moons are named after various sea gods in Greek mythology. Neptune has six rings.

Major Moons• Mercury~0• Venus~0• Earth ~1 ~Luna• Mars ~2 ~Phobes, Deimos• Jupiter~67~The Galilean moons~Io, Europa,

Ganymede, Callisto• Saturn~ 62 ~Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione,

Rhea• Uranus~27~ Puck, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel,

Titania, and Oberon• Neptune~13~ Trition

~Fun Facts~• On Jupiter my weight would be 225.762 and on Mars my

weight would be 36.004 (Current Weight on Earth 95.5)• It is impossible to snore while sleeping in the

weightlessness of space.• About 99.86 percent of the mass of the Solar System is

made up of the Sun. • It takes about 1.25 seconds for moonlight to reach the

Earth whereas sunlight reaches earth in 8 minutes 19 seconds, so you can judge how close moon is to us & how far sun is from earth .

• There is no water or atmosphere on Mercury. • Saturn has such a low density that it would float if put in

water.

STAR PROMPTS1.Classify the planets into two categories and tell me how each planet fit the criterion.The Inner planets are the planets that have a solid surface able to land on and are to the left of the asteroid belt.The Outer Planets are the gaseous planets that have and iron core, rings, and mainly made of gases also are to the right of the asteroid belt.2.Distinguish the difference between rotation and revolution.The difference between a rotation from a revolution is that a rotation is just the planet spinning on its axis, and a revolution is when the planet has made its trip all the way around the Sun and is starting what we call a new year.Inner Planets Outer Planets

Mercury JupiterVenus SaturnEarth UranusMars Neptune