The PlanetsSolar System
The earth is only one small planet in an extremely large system of planets, satellites, asteroids, meteors and comets that revolve around the sun. This system is referred to as the solar system. A planet is defined as a "celestial body that revolves around a central star and does not shine by its own light " (Grolier,1992). The only planetary system known to our civilization is our solar system. It is made up of nine planets that differ greatly size and physical characteristics. The nine major planets in our solar system are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. There are also many other minor planets which are also in our solar system, but they are unimportant compared to the nine major planets. Following are descriptions of the differences that each of the nine planets have. The first planet to be discussed is Mercury. Mercury is the planet that is closest to the sun at an average distance of about 58 million km, or about 36 million miles. It takes 58.7 days for Mercury to rotate. The planet rotates one and one half times during each revolution. Mercury has a density and composition close to that of Earth and, like Earth has a magnetic field. This magnetic field is produced from
Venus is the second closest planet to the sun and is said to most closely resemble Earth in size, density, and distance from the sun. Venus is known as the sister planet to the Earth. One differences is that Venus is shrouded in thick clouds that completely hide the surface of the planet. The surface temperature is also much warmer than that of Earth. Venus completes one revolution around the sun in 224.7 days. This makes the a day on Venus equal to 117 earth days. It is thought that this slow rotation may be the reason why Venus has no magnetic field. Cattermole, P. (1995). Earth and Other Planets. New York: Oxford University Press. Even though there have been estimates made, the main problem scientists have with Uranus is that this planet does not have visible surface features, which means that it is difficult to measure the rotation period of Uranus because they are not sure which part of the planet they are viewing. Nine rings orbit Uranus, which also has 15 satellites revolving around its equator. The largest moons are named Oberon, Titania, Umbriel, Ariel, and Miranda. Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc. (1992). The weather on Jupiter is still very hard for scientists to understand. There has not been nearly enough information compiled about conditions on Jupiter to truly understand, or describe the nature of the weather is on this planet. Its weather conditions remain something of a mystery, or puzzle, to scientists. One feature of Jupiter that is recognizable by most individuals is its rings. These rings are very diffused and unclear. The ring particles are extremely small, approximately a few microns. The size of the particles explains why the rings are not more clearly visible.
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Approximate Word count = 2722
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)
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