The+Planets

=The Planets - //'__M__y **__V__** ////ery **__E__** ////asy **__M__** ////ethod-__J__ust **__S__** ////et **__U__** ////p **__N__** ////ine **__P__** ////lanets'//=

Our Solar System - [] The Milky Way - our universe (picture -.[] = The Sun: =

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The Sun is not a planet, it is a star and is the centre of the Milky Way - which is our Solar System. The Sun is no different to the other stars in the galaxy, in fact, there are others just like it. The Sun's temperature is extreme - 15.6 million degrees and the pressure is a massive 250 billion atmospheres put together. On the surface of the Sun which is known as the photosphere, the temperature is about 5,800,000 degrees though there are 'dark spots' on the Sun known as 'Sun Spots' that are a lot cooler than usual. They are about 3 800 000 degrees cooler than the normal surface temperature of the sun. The suns natural gas is not here for us forever, and this sun will go through the process many other stars go through, which is resulted in a supernova, a massive explosion that would reach way past earth and its energy would be felt all the way up to Jupiter. The sun is a natural source of energy for us that almost every living thing on earth needs. []====== = = =** Venus: **= The second closest planet to the sun. This planet was named after the goddess of beauty and love, maybe because it is one of the brightest planets in the Solar System. It is infact the hottest planet in the Solar System, even hotter than Mercury. It is naturally the brightest object in our sky, apart from the moon itself. It is brighter than the brightest stars we have. Venus is also known as a terrestrial planet. The structure and size is like that of earths, but has different elements that are of its atmosphere. Venus has clouds of sulfuric acid, and its atmosphere of carbon dioxide. Venus orbits the sun around every 224 earth days. [] =** Ear th: ** =

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The third closest planet from the Sun. It is also the only known as inhabited planet in our Solar System. It is home to a lot of living organisms and is the only planet known to hold life. It resides in a perfect orbit, in which our weather is not too hot nor too cold. The surface is made up of earth and large oceans of water. THe earth is also made up of layers that would reach up to the planets core, which is unbelievably hot and about 5100–6378 km from the surface. Earth contained traces of life from around 4 billion years ago, then evolving into the many different life forms we see today. Earth only has one satellite, being that of the Moon which is bright enough to light up the night sky. The atmospheric conditions are very different to that of many other planets and protects us from the suns harmful rays and leaving a perfect temperature for life on earth. [] ======

=** Mars: **= The fourth closest planet from the Sun. Due to its red colour, it is also known as the Red Planet and named after the Roman god of War, its red colour made up of iron oxide. Mars' surface area is very similar to Earth's and also has many interesting land terrain, just like Earth's: Mars even has polar ice caps just like earth, but has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, instead of one. These moons have been speculated to be captured asteroids. There also have been speculations that liquid water may have existed on Mars, as channels and light and dark patches have been seen. In the night sky, Mars can be seen with the naked eye. [|http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Mars_Hubble.jpg] = = **Jupiter:**  Is the fifth closest planet to the sun. It is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn, Uranus and Neptune and are also known as Juvian planets. Jupiter is the biggest planet in our Solar System being about 71 000 km in diameter. It was named after the Roman god Jupiter, the king of the Gods. Jupiter is mostly made of hydrogen and helium, and most likely to have a rocky core, being made up of elements under pressure. Jupiter has an interesting mark on its surface, that being the Great Red Spot, a raging storm that has been long going ever since it was discovered around 500 years ago. It takes Jupiter 4331 days to orbit our Sun. Jupiter has an amazing 63 moons, the four main ones named after Gallileo Gallilei himself. []
 * Olympus Mons:** It is the largest mountain in our Solar System. It is 24km high.
 * Tharsis:** A great bulge that is 10km high and 4000km wide.
 * Valles Marineris:** A valley of canyons with them 2 - 7km deep.
 * Hellas Planitia:** A massive crater 2000km wide and 6km deep. Mars has two moons (or satellites) and they are called Phobos and Deimos.

=Saturn:  The sixth furthest from the sun and second biggest, being 120, 536 km in diameter. Saturn was named after the roman god of agriculture and if looked in the history of the days of the week, Saturn makes up Saturday. It is made similarly to Jupiter, being made of hydrogen and helium and has a rocky core. But Saturn is a lot different to Jupiter, as it has a few rings surrounding it, made of particles of debris and dust, along with ice. Saturn has a number of 61 moons, with them the second biggest moon in our Solar System, Titan, which is bigger than Mercury itself and is the only moon in our Solar System to contain an atmosphere. Saturn is a Jovian planet. =

[[image:saturn81.jpg width="267" height="201"]][|http://www.saskschools.ca/%7Egregory/space/planets/saturn81.jpg]
= = =** Uranus: **= Is the 7th farthest from the Sun and 3rd biggest in diameter. It was named after the first ancient divinity of the heavens. It is blue because of the plenty of methane in its atmosphere. Uranus has 21 moons, whilst almost all of them named after Shakespears' poetry. Uranus has rings just like Saturn's popular rings and the non popular ones in Jupiter and Neptune. Its atmosphere is similar to Jovian planets Jupiter and Saturn, made up of Hydrogen and small amounts of helium. Uranus is a cold and cloudy world, being -221 C above the clouds, even Voyager which was sent up there had difficulty looking towards its surface. []

=** Neptune: **= Neptune was the Greek equivalent of Poseidon, god of the sea. Possibly named after the colour of its surface. It is the fourth largest planet (bring almost 50,000 km in diameter) and second furthest from the sun. Its orbit can change though as it crosses over Pluto's orbit and can be the furthest away from the sun for some time. There are some famous sights that have been discovered on Neptune, such as the Great Dark Spot, much like Jupiter's Red Spot and another spot known as the 'Scooter'. The Great Dark Spot is said to have disappeared once, then re-appeared and now recently discovered that Neptune's atmosphere changes. Neptune also has rings of its own, much like Saturn's. [] =** Pluto: **= The furthest away from the Sun. Pluto was discovered in 1930 as an accident as scientists found Uranus and Neptune's motions attracted to some other planet beyond Neptune. After close examination, they found what they were looking for. It was the planet Pluto, named after the Greek god of the Underworld. Pluto is a very small planet, being 2274km wide, and sometimes not even classified as a planet, as a new rule in planets says. Pluto would belong to a group known as 'dwarf planet' and it even has its own moons, Charon, Nix and Hydra. Charon is the biggest of the three and is named after the Greek mythical figure who brings the dead across a river to the underworld. Pluto is the furthest planet of them all, only when it comes across Neptune's orbit it becomes second furthest. The temperature in Pluto is -235 to -210 Celsius.

[|http://haysvillelibrary.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/pluto.jpg]

media type="youtube" key="w45p3fyhExM" height="340" width="560" =Bibliography (in order): Every page researched from wikipedia is compared to even more websites for its relevant information. [] [] =