mr. greene

Mercury
Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. It has no moons and is one-third size of the Earth. With a slow spin of 1407.6 hours, this planet has no atmosphere and the little it does have is mainly composed of oxygen and sodium. During the daytime on this planet the surface reaches 427 degrees c when at night it gets to be -173 degrees c. Mercury's surface is covered in craters which are called scarps. It has an extensive core of nickel-iron. Scientists believe that at one point in time this planet was much larger than it is today.

Venus
Coming in second closest to the sun, Venus, like Mercury, has no moons. In night time sky this is the brightest planet due to it's closeness. Venus has the highest albedo compare to all the other planets in our solar system. With a surface reaching 464 degrees c, Venus is hot enough to melt lead! The atmosphere is mainly made up of carbon dioxide, nitrogen with sulfuric acid making up the clouds. If it were to ever rain on Venus, the rain would be sulfuric rain. This is a greenhouse planet. It's the hottest planet although it's not the closest to the sun. The surface has been smoothed by volcanic lava flows from deep inside the planet. It is believed that the core is a liquid metal, but scientist can not prove such theories yet.

Earth
The third planet from the sun, also the only planet known to be able to sustain all three states of matter:liquid, gas, and solid. Earth is the only known planet to hold life and water. With it's tilted axis, it creates the four seasons of the year. It takes Earth 26 000 years to go through precession.

Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the sun. It's redish colour is cause by high iron content in the soil. That is why Mars is known as the "Red Planet". Mars is a terrestrial planet with two moons, Phobos, and Deimons. Phobos and Deimons are captured asteroids. With a thin, turbulent atmosphere, Mars doesn't have a strong greenhouse effect. Due to this type of atmosphere there are consistent wind and dust storms. The North and South poles have different types of surfaces. The south is heavily cratered, and the highland region. As the north is dominated by plains which have barely any craters at all. The biggest mountain in the solar system, is actually a volcano located on Mars called Olympus Mons. Polar ice caps hover both poles. Mars has a core of iron and nickel with sulfur. This planet has no magnetic feild.

Jupiter
With four major satellites and many smaller ones, Jupiter is the fifth planet away from the sun. This planet has thin,dim rings around it which are composed of lightweight elements. Hydrogen and helium make up most of it's atmospheric gas. Jupiter's atmosphere, like Earth's, has layers. It's four largest moons are: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto which are made up of ice and rock. Jupiter's ring is 6400 km wide.

Saturn
The sixth planet from the sun and the second largest planet in our solar system. Titan is Saturns largest moon. With an atmosphere dominated by hydrogen, helium, and ammonia ice near the tops of clouds Jupiter has seven major rings that are very thing. The rings are composed of rock and ice that range in size. This planet has a solid core and a magnetic feild.

Uranus
Bluish in colour would be Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun. It's larger moons out of the many are Titania and Oberon. Methane gas in the atmosphere reflects blue light back into space even though the atmosphere is mainly composed of helium and hydrogen. With a strong magnetic feild and a solid core, scientists think Uranus was knocked sideways from a collision with a passing object. The surface temperature is -215 degrees c. This planet is frequently gaining new moons.