Planetary Comparison
SCI/151
May 3, 2011
Norman Stradleigh
Planetary Comparison
Planet Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the fifth largest of the planets of the Solar System. Earth’s surface is 71 percent water and is the only astronomical planet currently known where life exists. Earth is our home planet. Scientist and astronomers have studied our planet for Centuries and they have discovered much about our planet. Scientist have gained so much more knowledge of our Solar System in the last half-century after the NASA launched the first spacecraft and travel beyond Earth’s atmosphere has opened up to those who wish to explore. In the following paragraphs, we will discuss Earth and the
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It is a cloudy, dim world of intense heat, volcanic activity, and deformed mountains on the surface. Mars is a rocky body about half the size of Earth. Like Earth, Mars experiences seasons because of the tilt of its rotational axis, so its distance to the sun changes, according to NASA (n.d.). Telescope observations show water-iced clouds, polar ice, and volcanoes. Mars has the largest Volcanic Mountain in the solar system, named the Olympus Mons and has two moons in its orbit. Jupiter is the largest and the fastest spinning planet in our solar system. The storm on Jupiter known as the Great Red Spot could swallow up the entire Earth. Jupiter is made primarily of hydrogen and helium and has no solid surface. Its atmosphere resembles that of the sun. Stathopoulus (2000 – 2011), “ Sixteen moons have been identified, with Ganymede noted as the largest - it is bigger than both Mercury and Pluto” (Facts about Jupiter, para. 9). Saturn is unique of all the planets, adorned with thousands of beautiful ringlets and has 63 moons with confirmed orbits. Fifty-three of the moons have been named, with Titan being the largest and the only one with an atmosphere. Saturn is mostly a massive ball of hydrogen and helium, much like the planet Jupiter. Uranus is the only giant planet whose equator is nearly at right angles to its orbit and has 5 large moons and 22 smaller moons. It is, also, the only planet in our solar system to spin on its side. Uranus
Neptune has 14 different moons. Neptune’s largest moon is called Triton. Triton is the only large moon in the solar system to orbit in the opposite direction to its planet’s rotation, this is known as a retrograde orbit. The distance of its orbit is 354,759 km. Its orbit period takes 5.9 days (retrograde). Triton was discovered by William Lassell. Neptune has 5 rings. Neptune is very cold compared to Earth. It is -214 degrees Celsius. Neptune is the smallest of the ice giants. Despite being smaller than Uranus, Neptune has a greater mass. Below its heavy atmosphere, Uranus is made of layers of hydrogen, helium, and methane gases. They enclose a layer of water, ammonia and methane ice. The inner core of the planet is made of
and is not fully understood. One of Saturn’s moon is Titan .Made up of a rock like core
In the Solar System there is nine planets total counting Pluto and eight not counting pluto. Named after the Greek god of the underworld Pluto is the ninth of the nine planets from the sun. Pluto was discovered in February 18, 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh. Plutos the only orbit planet in the Solar System after it was classified as an orbit planet back in 2006. The planet has nine moons total Charon, Hydra, Nix, Kerberos, and Styx. Although Pluto is the largest Dwarf Planet it's smaller than most moon of the other planets. Alongside Pluto is the eighth planet from the sun otherwise known as Neptune. Due to its blue coloration Neptune was named after the Roman god of the Sea. While neptunes the third largest planet with respect to mass, according to diameter it's the fourth largest. Neptune has 14 moons and a very thin collection of rings that are made up of ice and dust
The other 22 are further away and some are smaller than Pluto. One of the largest moons is Titania and is covered with small craters. The second largest moon is Arial, it has craters, valleys and canyons on it. The darkest moon orbiting Uranus is Umbriel.
Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has a reddish surface geology resembling blood. This is where it gets the name given to it, which comes from the Roman God of War. It's orbital rotation cycle is once every 24.6 hours - nearly identical to one day on Earth. Also similar to Earth, the equator of Mars leans to one side. As it orbits the Sun, therefore, Mars experiences the same day and night cycles as does planet
Jupiter, being the fifth and largest planet from the sun, is huge. In fact, it is approximately a thousand times the size of our home planet. Alongside Neptune, Saturn and Uranus, it is a gas giant. hydrogen and helium are the main components. Jupiter's surface appears striped due to the color swirls. wind on the planet gets up twice as strong as a hurricane on earth.
Saturn has an average radius of nine times that of Earth, it is the second largest planet after Jupiter and sixth from the sun.
Galileo spacecraft first discovered the four largest moon of Jupiter, called Io, Europa, Ganymede and Ganymede and Callisto. Ganymede is the largest moon in the Solar System Atmosphere And Planetary Composition: Temperature Range: The cloud-tops average 120 K=153*C=-244*F. Atmosphere: Jupiter is a gaseous planet; it does not have a solid surface like the Earth does (but probably has a solid, rocky core 10 to 15 times the mass of the Earth). When we look at Jupiter, we are seeing icy clouds of gases moving at high speeds in the atmosphere. Jupiter's atmosphere is composed of about 90% hydrogen and 10% helium.
The reading on terrestrial planets from chapter 6 provides readers with a little insight on the similarities and differences between the planets. These planets include Earth, Venus, Mercury, and Mars. Although these planets have very different properties, they are connected due to their history. There are scientific laws that help people understand, compare, and contrast these planets, such as gravity, chemical composition, and temperature.
Saturn is one of the most well known and loved planets in the solar system known for its many features, including its incredible rings, beautiful color and much more. Saturn is a gas giant made up of mostly hydrogen and helium, similar to Jupiter another gas giant. Saturn is the sixth planet from our sun and the second largest planet in our solar system. It's the furthest planet from Earth that’s still visible to the unaided human eye. Saturn is an incredible and outstanding planet with a huge history and intricate details that make it such a spectacular and important part of our solar system.
Saturn is one of the most interesting planets in the solar system. It is the sixth planet in the solar system, and is most famous for its stunning array of rings. It is a very easy planet to pick out in the sky because it is one of the brightest lights in the shy. It also has a very faint greenish color that makes it stand out from the rest of the objects in the sky (“Astronomy for Kids”). Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter being the only planet that is bigger. It also has at least eighteen moons, more than any other planet in the solar system. There have been three voyages to this extraordinary planet, and one is still in process today. The Pioneer II traveled to Saturn in September of 1979,
Uncovering the mysteries of Jupiter is a crucial step for a greater understanding of our Solar System. Being the massive planet that it is, this mysterious planet may hold many answers to how our the Solar System formed and evolved. The understanding of the origins of the universe includes answers even to the formation of Earth itself. Many believe that the research of Jupiter will lead to discoveries on planet formation and the role of giant planets on the formation f stars and other smaller bodies. Mysteries of Jupiter include its composition, what is under its clouds, what is in its core and its magnetic field. Research on the amount of water in the planet will tell us about the
On Earth we have one moon to look at during the night. Can you imagine looking at 50 or 60 moons at night? If we lived on Jupiter, that’s what we would see! Jupiter has 50 definite moons. There are 17 moons scientists are still examining to make sure that they are moons. Some are smaller than 1.5 miles in diameter! Jupiter’s four largest moons, and four first discovered, are known as the Galilean moons, named after their discoverer Galileo Galilee in 1610.
our solar system, but they are unimportant compared to the nine major planets. In this paper I will discuss the planets and how they are each unique.
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and by far the largest mass object in the solar system of all the other planets. Jupiter is twice the size of all the other planets combined. It is as 318 times the sizes of earth. The distance that Jupiter orbits the sun is 778,330,000 km (Gallant pp154). The diameter is 142,984 km and the mass that it has is 1.900e27 kg. Jupiter is the fourth brightest object in the sky after the Sun, the Moon and Venus. Mars is some times brighter. Galileo discovered Jupiter in 1610(Gallant); another interesting fact is that Jupiter has 4 large moons. Which are known as the Galilean moons. They were named Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. The first mission that went to Jupiter was Pioneer 10 in 1973 and later