Venus

Venus is the second-closest planet to the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is
named after Venus, theRoman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest
natural object in the night sky, reaching anapparent magnitude of −4.6. Because Venus is
an inferior planet from Earth, it never appears to venture far from the Sun: its elongation reaches
a maximum of 47.8°. Venus reaches its maximum brightness shortly before sunrise or shortly
after sunset, for which reason it is often called the Morning Star or the Evening Star.
Classified as a terrestrial planet, it is sometimes called Earth's "sister planet" because they are
similar in size, gravity, and bulk composition. Venus is covered with an opaque layer of highly
reflective clouds of sulfuric acid, preventing its surface from being seen from space in visible
light. Venus has the densest atmosphere of all the terrestrial planets, consisting mostly of carbon
dioxide, as it has no carbon cycle to lock carbon back into rocks and surface features, nor organic
life to absorb it in biomass. A younger Venus is believed to have possessed Earth-like oceans,
[8]
but these totally evaporated as the temperature rose, leaving a dusty dry desertscape with many
slab-like rocks. The water has most likely dissociated, and, because of the lack of a planetary
magnetic field, the hydrogen has been swept into interplanetary space by the solar wind.
[9]
The atmospheric pressure at the planet's surface is 92 times that of the Earth.
Venus's surface was a subject of speculation until some of its secrets were revealed by planetary
science in the twentieth century. It was finally mapped in detail by Project Magellan in 1990–91.
The ground shows evidence of extensive volcanism, and the sulfur in the atmosphere may
indicate that there have been some recent eruptions.[10][11]However, the absence of evidence
of lava flow accompanying any of the visible caldera remains an enigma. The planet has
few impact craters, demonstrating that the surface is relatively young, approximately half a
billion years old.[12]There is no evidence for plate tectonics, possibly because its crust is too
strong to subduct without water to make it less viscous. Instead, Venus may lose its internal heat
in periodic massive resurfacing events.
 Earth

Earth (or the Earth) is the third planet from the Sun, and the fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar
System. It is also the largest, most massive, and densest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets. It is
sometimes referred to as the World, the Blue Planet,[note 3] or Terra.[note 4]
Home to millions of species,[11] including humans, Earth is the only place in the Universe where life is
known to exist. The planet formed 4.54 billion years ago,[12] and life appeared on its surface within a
billion years. Since then, Earth'sbiosphere has significantly altered the atmosphere and
other abiotic conditions on the planet, enabling the proliferation of aerobic organisms as well as the
formation of the ozone layer which, together with Earth's magnetic field, blocks harmful radiation,
permitting life on land.[13] The physical properties of the Earth, as well as its geological history and orbit,
have allowed life to persist during this period. The world is expected to continue supporting life for
another 1.5 billion years, after which the rising luminosity of the Sun will eliminate the biosphere.[14]
Earth's outer surface is divided into several rigid segments, or tectonic plates, that gradually migrate
across the surface over periods of many millions of years. About 71% of the surface is covered with salt-
water oceans, the remainder consisting of continents and islands; liquid water, necessary for all known
life, is not known to exist on any other planet's surface.[note 5][note 6] Earth's interior remains active, with a
thick layer of relatively solid mantle, a liquidouter core that generates a magnetic field, and a solid
iron inner core.
Earth interacts with other objects in outer space, including the Sun and the Moon. At present, Earth orbits
the Sun once for every roughly 366.26 times it rotates about its axis. This is a sidereal year, which is
equal to 365.26 solar days.[note 7] The Earth's axis of rotation is tilted 23.4° away from the perpendicular to
its orbital plane,[15] producing seasonal variations on the planet's surface with a period of one tropical
year (365.24 solar days). Earth's only known natural satellite, the Moon, which began orbiting it about
4.53 billion years ago, provides ocean tides, stabilizes the axial tilt and gradually slows the planet's
rotation. Between approximately 4.1 and 3.8 billion years ago, asteroidimpacts during the Late Heavy
Bombardment caused significant changes to the surface environment.
Both the mineral resources of the planet, as well as the products of the biosphere, contribute resources
that are used to support a global human population. The inhabitants are grouped into about 200
independent sovereign states, which interact through diplomacy, travel, trade and military action. Human
cultures have developed many views of the planet, including personification as a deity, a belief in a flat
Earth or in Earth as the center of the universe, and a modern perspective of the world as an integrated
environment that requires stewardship.
 Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after Mars,
the Roman god of war. It is also referred to as the "Red Planet" because of its reddish
appearance, due to iron oxide[7] prevalent on its surface. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a
thin atmosphere, having surface features reminiscent both of the impact craters of the Moon and
the volcanoes, valleys, deserts and polar ice caps of Earth. Unlike the Earth, Mars is now a
geologically inactive planet with no known tectonic activity. It is the site of Olympus Mons, the
highest known mountain in the Solar System, and of Valles Marineris, the largest canyon. The
smooth Borealis basin in the northern hemisphere may be a giant impact feature covering 40% of
the planet.[8][9] Mars’ rotational period and seasonal cycles are likewise similar to those of Earth.
Until the first flyby of Mars by Mariner 4 in 1965, many speculated that there might be liquid
water on the planet's surface. This was based on observed periodic variations
in light and dark patches, particularly in the polar latitudes, which looked like seas and
continents, while long, dark striations were interpreted by some as irrigation channels for liquid
water. These straight line features were later explained as optical illusions. Still, of all the planets
in the Solar System other than Earth, Mars is the most likely to harbor liquid water, and thus may
contain life.[10] Geological evidence gathered by unmanned missions suggests that Mars once had
large-scale water coverage on its surface, while small geyser-like water flows may have occurred
during the past decade.[11] In 2005, radar data revealed the presence of large quantities of water
ice at the poles[12] and at mid-latitudes (November 2008).[13] The Phoenix Mars Lander directly
sampled water ice in shallow martian soil on July 31, 2008.[14]
Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are small and irregularly shaped. These may be
captured asteroids, similar to 5261 Eureka, a Martian Trojan asteroid. Mars can easily be seen
from Earth with the naked eye. Itsapparent magnitude reaches −2.91,[5] a brightness surpassed
only by Venus, the Moon, and the Sun, although most of the time Jupiter will appear brighter to
the naked eye than Mars. Mars has an average opposition distance of 78 million km but can
come as close as 55.7 million km during a close approach, such as occurred in 2003.[5]
Mars is currently host to three functional orbiting spacecraft: Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, and
the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. On the surface are the two Mars Exploration
Rovers (Spirit and Opportunity) and several inert landers and rovers, both successful and
unsuccessful. The Phoenix lander completed its mission on the surface in 2008. Observations
by NASA's now-defunct Mars Global Surveyor show evidence that parts of the southern polar
ice cap have been receding.

Jupiter

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System.[13] It is
a gas giant with amass slightly less than one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half
times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas
giant along with Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Together, these four planets are sometimes
referred to as the Jovian planets.
The planet was known by astronomers of ancient times and was associated with the mythology
and religious beliefs of many cultures. The Romans named the planet after the Roman
god Jupiter.[14] When viewed from Earth, Jupiter can reach an apparent magnitude of −2.94,
making it on average the third-brightest object in the night sky after theMoon and Venus.
(Mars can briefly match Jupiter's brightness at certain points in its orbit.)
Jupiter is primarily composed of hydrogen with a quarter of its mass being helium; it may also
have a rocky core of heavier elements. Because of its rapid rotation, Jupiter's shape is that of
an oblate spheroid (it possesses a slight but noticeable bulge around the equator). The outer
atmosphere is visibly segregated into several bands at different latitudes, resulting in turbulence
and storms along their interacting boundaries. A prominent result is the Great Red Spot, a giant
storm that is known to have existed since at least the 17th century when it was first seen by
telescope. Surrounding the planet is a faint planetary ring system and a powerful magnetosphere.
There are also at least 63 moons, including the four large moons called the Galilean moons that
were first discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610.Ganymede, the largest of these moons, has a
diameter greater than that of the planet Mercury.
Jupiter has been explored on several occasions by robotic spacecraft, most notably during the
early Pioneer andVoyager flyby missions and later by the Galileo orbiter. The most recent probe
to visit Jupiter was the Pluto-boundNew Horizons spacecraft in late February 2007. The
probe used the gravity from Jupiter to increase its speed. Future targets for exploration in the
Jovian system include the possible ice-covered liquid ocean on the moon Europa.
 Saturn

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System,
after Jupiter. Saturn, along with Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune, is classified as a gas giant.
Together, these four planets are sometimes referred to as the Jovian, meaning "Jupiter-like",
planets.
Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Kronos (the Titan father
of Zeus) theBabylonian Ninurta and to the Hindu Shani. Saturn's symbol represents the
god's sickle (Unicode: ♄).
The planet Saturn is composed of hydrogen, with small proportions of helium and trace
elements.[12] The interior consists of a small core of rock and ice, surrounded by a thick layer
of metallic hydrogen and a gaseous outer layer. The outer atmosphere is generally bland in
appearance, although long-lived features can appear. Wind speeds on Saturn can reach
1,800 km/h, significantly faster than those on Jupiter. Saturn has a planetarymagnetic
field intermediate in strength between that of Earth and the more powerful field around Jupiter.
Saturn has a prominent system of rings, consisting mostly of ice particles with a smaller amount
of rocky debrisand dust. Sixty-one known moons orbit the planet, not counting hundreds of
"moonlets" within the rings. Titan, Saturn's largest and the Solar System's second largest moon
(after Jupiter's Ganymede), is larger than the planetMercury and is the only moon in the Solar
System to possess a significant atmosphere.
 Neptune

Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun in our Solar System. Named for the Roman god of the
sea, it is the fourth-largest planet by diameter and the third-largest by mass. Neptune is 17 times
the mass of Earth and is slightly more massive than its near-twin Uranus, which is 15 Earth
masses and not as dense.[12] On average, Neptune orbits the Sun at a distance of 30.1 AU,

approximately 30 times the Earth-Sun distance. Its astronomical symbol is , a stylized version
of the god Neptune's trident.
Discovered on September 23, 1846,[1] Neptune was the first planet found by mathematical
prediction rather than byempirical observation. Unexpected changes in the orbit
of Uranus led Alexis Bouvard to deduce that its orbit was subject to gravitational perturbation by
an unknown planet. Neptune was subsequently observed by Johann Gallewithin a degree of the
position predicted by Urbain Le Verrier, and its largest moon, Triton, was discovered shortly
thereafter, though none of the planet's remaining 12 moons were located telescopically until the
20th century. Neptune has been visited by only one spacecraft, Voyager 2, which flew by the
planet on August 25, 1989.
Neptune is similar in composition to Uranus, and both have compositions which differ from
those of the larger gas giants Jupiter and Saturn. Neptune's atmosphere, while similar to Jupiter's
and Saturn's in that it is composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, along with traces
of hydrocarbons and possibly nitrogen, contains a higher proportion of "ices" such as
water, ammonia and methane. Astronomers sometimes categorize Uranus and Neptune as "ice
giants" in order to emphasize these distinctions.[13] The interior of Neptune, like that of Uranus, is
primarily composed of ices and rock.[14] Traces of methane in the outermost regions in part
account for the planet's blue appearance.[15]
In contrast to the relatively featureless atmosphere of Uranus, Neptune's atmosphere is notable
for its active and visible weather patterns. At the time of the 1989 Voyager 2 flyby, for example,
the planet's southern hemisphere possessed a Great Dark Spot comparable to the Great Red
Spot on Jupiter. These weather patterns are driven by the strongest sustained winds of any planet
in the Solar System, with recorded wind speeds as high as 2,100 km/h.[16] Because of its great
distance from the Sun, Neptune's outer atmosphere is one of the coldest places in the Solar
System, with temperatures at its cloud tops approaching −218 °C (55 K). Temperatures at the
planet's centre, however, are approximately 5,400 K (5,000 °C).[17][18] Neptune has a faint and
fragmented ring system, which may have been detected during the 1960s but was only
indisputably confirmed in 1989 by Voyager 2.
 Uranus

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun, and the third-largest and fourth most massive planet
in the Solar System. It is named after the ancient Greek deity of the sky Uranus (Ancient
Greek: Οὐρανός) the father of Kronos (Saturn) and grandfather of Zeus (Jupiter). Though it is
visible to the naked eye like the five classical planets, it was never recognized as a planet by
ancient observers because of its dimness and slow orbit.[16] Sir William Herschelannounced its
discovery on March 13, 1781, expanding the known boundaries of the Solar System for the first
time in modern history. Uranus was also the first planet discovered with a telescope.
Uranus is similar in composition to Neptune, and both have different compositions from those of
the larger gas giantsJupiter and Saturn. As such, astronomers sometimes place them in a separate
category, the "ice giants". Uranus's atmosphere, while similar to Jupiter and Saturn's in its
primary composition of hydrogen and helium, contains more "ices" such
as water, ammonia and methane, along with traces of hydrocarbons.[12] It is the coldest planetary
atmosphere in the Solar System, with a minimum temperature of 49 K (–224 °C). It has a
complex, layered cloudstructure, with water thought to make up the lowest clouds, and methane
thought to make up the uppermost layer of clouds.[12] In contrast the interior of Uranus is mainly
composed of ices and rock.[11]
Like the other giant planets, Uranus has a ring system, a magnetosphere, and numerous moons.
The Uranian system has a unique configuration among the planets because its axis of rotation is
tilted sideways, nearly into the plane of its revolution about the Sun. As such, its north and south
poles lie where most other planets have their equators.[17] Seen from Earth, Uranus's rings can
sometimes appear to circle the planet like an archery target and its moons revolve around it like
the hands of a clock, though in 2007 and 2008 the rings appeared edge-on. In 1986, images
fromVoyager 2 showed Uranus as a virtually featureless planet in visible light without the cloud
bands or storms associated with the other giants.[17] However, terrestrial observers have seen
signs of seasonal change and increased weatheractivity in recent years as Uranus approached
its equinox. The wind speeds on Uranus can reach 250 meters per second (900 km/h, 560 mph).