Science

Mercury:

  • Your weight on Mercury would be 38% of your weight on Earth.
  • Mercury is the second densest planet. Earth is the only one with a higher density.
  • Mercury has a molten core, unlike other inner planets.
  • Mercury has the most craters of any planet, and the Caloris Basin is the largest impact crater on Mercury covering approximately 1,550 km in diameter.
  • Although it is closer to the sun, Mercury is still the second hottest planet.

Venus:

  • A day on Venus is longer than a year, and it’s the longest rotation of any planet in the Solar System
  • Venus is the only planet that spins clockwise on its axis.
  • Venus is actually upside down! This must have happened due to a collision early in its life, and it’s why Venus spins clockwise.
  • Venus is the second brightest natural object after the Moon in the night sky.
  • Venus has 90 times the atmospheric pressure of Earth; that is the same pressure at a depth of 1 kilometre in Earth’s oceans.

Earth:

  • Earth bulges at its diameter at about 0.3% longer, due to rotation.
  • Earth’s molten iron core creates a magnetic field
  • Earth’s atmosphere extends to a distance of 10,000
  • There are 2 additional asteroids locked into a co-orbital orbit with Earth called 3753 Cruithne and 2002 AA29
  • Earth has tectonic plates that are always on the move and they provide a sort of land on the magma

Mars:

  • Mars’s gravity is 38% of Earth’s
  • Mars’s atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide and only traces of nitrogen and argon.
  • Mars has 2 moons called Phobos and Deimos.
  • Mars has the tallest volcano known on a planet in a solar system Olympus Mons, which is 16 miles high.
  • Mars has methane in its atmosphere, a sign of biological activity.
READ:
What can we see in the sky? Star Constellations

Jupiter:

  • Many astronomers call Jupiter a failed star though it would need 70 times its current mass to ignite a nuclear fusion process and become a star.
  • Jupiter is the fastest spinning planet in the Solar System, regardless of being the largest
  • The surface clouds on Jupiter are just 50 kilometres thick.
  • Jupiter has 67 moons, Ganymede is the largest.
  • Jupiter has a faint ring system around it, made from comets and asteroids, and dust particles.

Saturn:

  • Saturn is the most distant planet to be seen with the naked eye from Earth.
  • Saturn is mostly made of hydrogen, and it gets denser farther into the planet.
  • Saturn has the most extensive rings in the solar system that stretch out more than 127,000 km from the planet
  • Saturn has the most moons of any planet in the solar system.
  • Saturn is the least dense planet in the solar system, and it is actually less dense than water, meaning it would float in a pool of water!

Uranus:

  • Known as the “sideways planet” because it rotates on its side, most likely due to a collision early in its life.
  • Coldest planet in the solar system, as its core no longer radiates much energy.
  • Uranus is the second least dense planet in the solar system.
  • Uranus has only been visited once ever by NASA’s Voyager 2 in a high-speed flyby.
  • Uranus orbits around the Sun fully every 84 Earth years!

Neptune:

  • Neptune has the strongest winds in the solar system, reaching 2,100 kph.
  • Neptune’s largest moon Triton orbits Neptune backwards compared to its other moons.
  • Neptune is the smallest of the gas giant planets, though despite being smaller than Uranus, it has a greater mass.
  • Neso is Neptune’s most outer moon, and it orbits the planet much further than any other moon in the solar system.
  • Since Neptune’s discovery in 1846, it completed its first orbit in 2011, as it orbits the Sun every 165 Earth years!
READ:
The Planets of the Solar System

Bibliography

1815. “10 Interesting Facts About Mars.” Universe Today, 4 Apr. 2016,

 www.universetoday.com/14853/interesting-facts-about-planet-mars.

Choi, Charles. “Planet Mercury: Facts About the Planet Closest to the Sun.” Space.Com, 14 Oct. 2017,

 www.space.com/36-mercury-the-suns-closest-planetary-neighbor.html.

Mars.Nasa.Gov. “Mars Facts.” NASA’s Mars Exploration Program,

 mars.nasa.gov/all-about-mars/facts Accessed 13 May 2021.

Matt Williams “Ten Interesting Facts About Uranus.” Universe Today, 12 Jan.

2016, www.universetoday.com/19279/10-interesting-facts-about-uranus.

Pappas, Stephanie. “50 Interesting Facts About Earth.” Livescience.Com, 23 Mar. 2016, www.livescience.com/19102-amazing-facts-earth.html.

Space Facts “Saturn Facts 🪐 – Interesting Facts about Planet Saturn.” Space Facts, 25 Feb. 2021, space-facts.com/saturn.

Space Facts. “Jupiter Facts – Interesting Facts about Planet Jupiter.” Space Facts, 24 Apr. 2020, space-facts.com/jupiter.

Space Facts. “Neptune Facts – Interesting Facts about Planet Neptune.” Space Facts, 8 Oct. 2020, space-facts.com/neptune.

Space Facts. “Uranus Facts – Interesting Facts about Planet Uranus.” Space Facts, 8 Oct. 2020, space-facts.com/uranus.

ThePlanets.org. “Jupiter Facts: Interesting Facts about Planet Jupiter •.” The Planets, 14 Aug. 2017, theplanets.org/jupiter.

author avatar
William Anderson (Schoolworkhelper Editorial Team)
William completed his Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in 2013. He current serves as a lecturer, tutor and freelance writer. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, walking his dog and parasailing. Article last reviewed: 2022 | St. Rosemary Institution © 2010-2024 | Creative Commons 4.0

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