their axes. They undergo two motions; revolution which is around the sun and rotation, their means of spinning on their respective axes.
There are nine planets in the solar system. In the
order of their distances from the sun, they are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Planets may be classified according to their distances from the sun. Inner planets are those that are close to the sun,namely, mercury, venus, earth, and mars, while the outer planets include the last five. MERCURY
Mercury is the planet nearest to
the sun and the second smallest, with a diameter of 3,011 miles. It is about one sixteeth the size of the earth. Mercury`s magnetic field is about 1% as strong as that of the earth. Venus Venus is named after the roman goddess of love and beauty because as seen from the earth, it is the brightest of all the planets. Earth Earth is the only planet known to support and have intelligent life. While it has an atmosphere that makes it possible for life to flourish, the other planets are blanketed by boiling, poisonous gases. MARS Mars is earth`s closest celestial neighbor beyond the solar orbit. When seen up close, it has a redish color that`s why it is called the red planet. JUPITER Jupiter is the giant member of the planetary system. It was named after chief roman god. The god jupiter was also known as jove, thus, jovian is the adjective form used by astronomers to describe the planet. URANUS In 1781, William Herchel of England discovered a planet that was later named Uranus. Uranus is the third largest planet in the solar system. Its diameter is 47,000 kilometers. It has five moons. It takes 84 earth years for the planet to orbit the sun, and 17 hours and 15 minutes to rotate on its axis. Like jupiter and saturn, its density is very low. Uranus has a system of rings similar to those of saturn. SATURN
Saturn is the second largest
planet in the solar system. At first glance, it may look like a smaller model of jupiter. NEPTUNE
Neptune and Uranus are
like twins, besides being similar in size, they both appear as pale green due to methane in their atmospheres. However since neptune is farther away, it is believed to be older than uranus. PLUTO Pluto has a density of roughly 500 to 1,300 km/m3 with a composition estimated to be 74% water ice, 21% rock, and 5% methane ice. In the late 1970s, spectroscopic examinations showed that its atmosphere is thin methane gas probably derived from methane ice on its surface and accompanied by unknown gas.