OF THE Solar System: Planets

PLANETS
OF
THE
SOLAR
SYSTEM
MEMBERS:
Vince Therese P. Guimbarda
Kirt Datoy
Eliana Mae Siarot
Jess Ian T. Quijano
Ira Mae M.Borling
Terrestrial planets
The inner four worlds are called “terrestrial planets,” because, like Earth, their surfaces are all rocky. Pluto,
too, has a solid surface (and a very frozen one) but has never been grouped with the four terrestrials.
Jovian planets
The four large outer worlds — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune — are known as the “Jovian planets”
(meaning “Jupiter-like”) because they are all huge compared to the terrestrial planets, and because they
are gaseous in nature rather than having rocky surfaces (though some or all of them may have solid cores,
astronomers say). According to NASA, "two of the outer planets beyond the orbit of Mars — Jupiter and
Saturn — are known as gas giants; the more distant Uranus and Neptune are called ice giants." This is
because, while the first two are dominated by gas, while the last two have more ice. All four contain mostly
hydrogen and helium.
Dwarf planets
The IAU definition of a full-fledged planet goes like this: A body that circles the sun without being some
other object's satellite, is large enough to be rounded by its own gravity (but not so big that it begins to
undergo nuclear fusion, like a star) and has "cleared its neighborhood" of most other orbiting bodies. Yeah,
that’s a mouthful.
The problem for Pluto, besides its small size and offbeat orbit, is that it shares its space with lots of other
objects in the Kuiper Belt, beyond Neptune. Still, the demotion of Pluto remains controversial.
The IAU planet definition puts other small, round worlds in the dwarf planetcategory, including the Kuiper
Belt objects Eris, Haumea, and Makemake.
Also now a dwarf planet is Ceres, a round object in the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter. Ceres was
actually considered a planet when discovered in 1801 and then later deemed to be an asteroid. Some
astronomers like to consider Ceres as a 10th planet (not to be confused with Nibiru or Planet X), but that
line of thinking opens up the possibility of there being 13 planets, with more bound to be discovered.
The closest planet to the sun, Mercury is only a bit larger than Earth's moon. Its day side is
scorched by the sun and can reach 840 degrees Fahrenheit (450 Celsius), but on the night side,
temperatures drop to hundreds of degrees below freezing. Mercury has virtually no atmosphere to
absorb meteor impacts, so its surface is pockmarked with craters, just like the moon. Over its four-
year mission, NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft has revealed views of the planet that have
challenged astronomers' expectations.
 Discovery: Known to the ancients and visible to the naked eye

 Named for: Messenger of the Roman gods
 Diameter: 3,031 miles (4,878 km)
 Orbit: 88 Earth days
 Day: 58.6 Earth days
The second planet from the sun, Venus is terribly hot, even hotter than Mercury. The
atmosphere is toxic. The pressure at the surface would crush and kill you. Scientists describe
Venus’ situation as a runaway greenhouse effect. Its size and structure are similar to Earth,
Venus' thick, toxic atmosphere traps heat in a runaway "greenhouse effect." Oddly, Venus
spins slowly in the opposite direction of most planets.The Greeks believed Venus was two
different objects — one in the morning sky and another in the evening. Because it is often
brighter than any other object in the sky — except for the sun and moon — Venus has
generated many UFO reports.

 Named for: Roman goddess of love and beauty
 Day: 241 Earth days
The second planet from the sun, Venus is terribly hot, even hotter than Mercury. The
atmosphere is toxic. The pressure at the surface would crush and kill you. Scientists describe
Venus’ situation as a runaway greenhouse effect. Its size and structure are similar to Earth,
Venus' thick, toxic atmosphere traps heat in a runaway "greenhouse effect." Oddly, Venus
spins slowly in the opposite direction of most planets.The Greeks believed Venus was two
different objects — one in the morning sky and another in the evening. Because it is often
brighter than any other object in the sky — except for the sun and moon — Venus has
generated many UFO reports.

 Named for: Roman goddess of love and beauty
 Day: 241 Earth days

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PLANETS

 Discovery: Known to the ancients and visible to the naked eye

 Discovery: Known to the ancients and visible to the naked eye

 Discovery: Known to the ancients and visible to the naked eye

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