SOLAR SYSTEM is composed of different heavenly bodies; these are the Sun, the eight planets, and large number of small bodies (comets, asteroids and meteoroids), interplanetary medium.  The sun contains 99.85 % of the matter of the solar system, planets which condensed out the same disk of material that formed the sun, only contains 0.135%. The planet that contains more than twice the matter of all the other planets is Jupiter.

Solar system does have the eight planets, and these are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Each planet does have their own characteristics that bring beauty and color to their own.

Here are the following descriptions of each planet:

MERCURY – The second densest major body in the solar system, the Greeks gave it two names (Apollo and Hermes). Mercury is the god of commerce, travel and thievery; this was named because it moves quickly across the sky. Mercury is one of the four terrestrial planets, being a rocky body like the Earth. Its diameter is 4,878 km (3,032 miles) at its equator, which is about two-fifths of Earth’s diameter. Its mass is 3.30e23 kg. It doesn’t have a moon and the period of its rotation is 58.6462 days.

VENUS- The second nearest to the Sun. It is covered with thick clouds that create a greenhouse effect that makes it very hot. Venus is the brightest object in the sky besides our Sun and Moon.  Venus is also called “morning star” because at sunrise it appears in the east and “evening star” as it appears at sunset when it is in west. Often called Earth’s twin because they are close in size, but that’s the only similarity. Its diameter  is 12,100 km.

EARTH - The planet where living and non-living things can be found. Its diameter is 12,800km, it has only one moon. Earth’s age is more than 4.5 billion years old. It is consists of a gaseous atmosphere, the hydrosphere (all water on Earth), the lithosphere, mantle, and core. Water in the form of the oceans covers about 70% while the land is 30%. The daily rotation of the Earth causes day and night. The Earth has some interesting facts: 

1.       Mount Everest – highest point on the surface

2.       Mauna Loa – largest volcano

3.       Nile River – longest river

4.       Atacama Desert – driest place

5.       Grand Canyon – world’s largest canyon.

6.       Caspian Sea – largest lake.

7.       Sahara Desert – world’s largest desert.

8.       Lake Baikal – deepest lake

9.       Greenland – largest island

 MARS

- also called as the “Red Planet”. This was named after the Roman god of war because it appears with a reddish tinge when it is viewed. Fourth closest planet to Earth. The number of satellites is 2, which is Phobos and Deimos. Its diameter is 6796 km and its rotation period is 24 hours and 37 minutes. Mars’ atmosphere is mainly carbon dioxide.

Mars has a hard rocky surface that you could walk on. Its surface is dry and much of it is covered with reddish dust and rocks, it has two permanent polar ice caps.

JUPITER - largest planet in the Solar System. It has at least 63 moons that includes, Europa, io, callisto and Ganymede. Jupiter was explored in flybys in the 1970’s by NASA’s Pioneer 10 and 11 and Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft, and is currently being studied by Galileo spacecraft. Its diameter is 85,788 miles, distance from the Sun is 466 million miles. Its rotation around the Sun is 12 Earth years. Jupiter’s atmosphere is mostly hydrogen and helium.

SATURN - The second massive planet, and the most distant planet known to the ancients, is one of the most beautiful sites in the Solar System. It is also the second largest planet.

Saturn’s Rings was first discovered by Galileo in 1610. Today, Saturn has 7 major ring divisions and 18 major moons. It is though that Saturn’s rings may be the remnants of moons destroyed by tidal interaction with its gravity.

URANUS 

It is the seventh planet in the Solar System and the third of the gas giants. Its moons include Caliban, Sycorax, Prospero, Setebos and Stephano. This was discovered by William Herschel on March 13, 1781. Its diameter is 51,500 km, it has 27 moons and the period of its rotation is 17.24 hours.

Uranus’ atmosphere is about 83% hydrogen, 15 % helium and 2% methane. Uranus is the only planet to spin on its side, the axis tilt is 98 degrees. Its surface may have a small, silicate-rich core, but most of its gas consists of water, ammonia and methane. Uranus is the farthest planet that can be seen without telescope.

NEPTUNE

The planet Neptune is the eight planet from the sun. Also known as the Blue Giant.

Neptune has 13 known moons: Triton, Thalassa, Naiad, despina, Galatea, Larissa, Proteus and Nereid.

Its name was given after the Roman god of the sea. Neptune’s atmosphere is made up of hydrogen, helium and methane.

Uranus is the only planet to spin on its side, the axis tilt is 98 degrees. Its surface may have a small, silicate-rich core, but most of its gas consists of water, ammonia and methane. Uranus is the farthest planet that can be seen without telescope.