Magnificent Solar System! The great 8!

8 PLANETS AROUND THE SUN

Do you know that there are 8 planets around the sun. They are called the "Solar System". There used to be 9 planets but in 2006, one of them were excluded from the list because it is too small to be a planet. So, it is classified as a dwarf planet. It is Pluto.

In this post, you will learn about each of the planets. 

1.  Mercury / Mercurius

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Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. It is 57.9 million km from the sun.The temperature of Mercury is 100-700 k. The diameter of the planet is 4878 km. 

It is called Mercury or Mercurius by the Romans because it appears to move so swiftly.

Fun Facts about Mercury:

1. Mercury has extreme temperatures because it is so close to the Sun and because it has almost no atmosphere. The sunny portion of the planet has a temperature of 800 degrees. The other side of the planet is -300 degrees.
2. Mercury can be seen from Earth. Look for it just as the Sun rises in the morning or as the Sun is setting at night. It looks like a bright star that sits close to the Sun.
3. Mercury is just a bit larger than our moon.
4. Some of the craters on Mercury are very deep. Scientists believe there is frozen ice in deep craters at the poles.

2. Venus

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Venus is the second planet in the orbit around the sun and the nearest planet to Earth! It is 108.2 million km from the sun. The temperature of Venus is 726 k. The diameter of the planet is 12104 km. 

Venus is the Roman name for the goddess of love. This planet was considered to be the brightest and most beautiful planet or star in the heavens. Other civilisations called it for their god or goddess of love / war.

Fun Facts about Venus:

1. Venus is sometimes called the morning or evening star. Look for it at dusk or sunrise. It looks like a large, red star.
2. Venus rotates in the opposite direction of Earth. The sun rises in the west and sets in the east.
3. One day on Venus is as long as 117 earth days.

3. Earth

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Earth is the third planet in the orbit around the sun.It is 149.6 million km from the sun. The temperature of Earth is 260-310 k. The diameter of the planet is 12756 km. 

The name Earth comes from the Indo-European base 'er,'which produced the Germanic noun 'ertho,' and ultimately German 'erde,' Dutch 'aarde,' Scandinavian 'jord,' and English 'earth.' Related forms include Greek 'eraze,' meaning 'on the ground,' and Welsh 'erw,' meaning 'a piece of land.'

Fun Facts about Earth:

1. Earth is the only planet that mankind didn’t name after a God.
2. In our solar system, Earth is the most dense planet.
3. The Earth’s most active volcano is the Stromboli Volcano in Italy.
4. Our largest ocean is the Pacific Ocean.

4. Mars

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Mars is the fourth planet in the orbit around the sun.It is 227.9 million km from the sun. The temperature of Mars is 150-310 k. The diameter of the planet is 6787 km. 

Mars is named by the Romans for their god of war because of its red, bloodlike color. Other civilizations also named this planet from this attribute; for example, the Egyptians named it "Her Desher," meaning "the red one."

Fun Facts about Mars:

1. A year lasts 687 days, almost twice as long as a year on Earth.
2. One day on Mars is 24 hours and 37 minutes, almost the same length as an Earth day.
3. The temperature on Mars ranges from -125 degrees to a balmy 23 degrees. 

5. Jupiter

Jupiter is the fifth planet in the orbit around the sun.It is 778.3 million km from the sun. The temperature of Jupiter is 120 k. The diameter of the planet is 142796 km. 

Jupiter was named after the king of the gods in Roman mythology. In a similar manner, the ancient Greeks named the planet after Zeus, the king of the Greek pantheon.

Fun Facts about Jupiter:

1. Jupiter has more than 50 moons.
2. Four of the moons are the size of planets.
3. Io, one of the moons, has more volcanoes than any other planet in the solar system.

6. Saturn

Saturn is the sixth planet in the orbit around the sun. It is 1427 million km from the sun. The temperature of Saturn is 88 k. The diameter of the planet is 120660 km. 

Saturn was named after the Roman god of agriculture. According to myth, Saturn introduced agriculture to his people by teaching them how to farm the land. Saturn was also the Roman god of time and this is perhaps why the slowest (in orbit around the Sun) of the five bright planets was named after him.

Fun Facts about Saturn:

1. Saturn has a small rocky core covered with liquid gas.
2. It is surrounded by a system of rings that stretch out into space for thousands of kilometres.
3. The rings are made up of millions of ice crystals, some as big as houses and others as small as specks of dust.

7. Uranus

Uranus is the seventh planet in the orbit around the sun. It is 2871 million km from the sun. The temperature of Uranus is 59 k. The diameter of the planet is 51118 km.

The name "Uranus" is a reference to the Greek god of the sky, Uranus. According to Greek mythology, Uranus was the grandfather of Zeus (Jupiter) and father of Cronus (Saturn). ... Eventually, the astronomers settled on the name Uranus in March 1782, upon the recommendation of German astronomer Johann Elert Bode.

Fun Facts about Uranus:

1. Because it's tipped, Uranus has seasons that last 20 years. 
2. The temperature is almost always the same, whether its winter or summer because the planet is so far from the sun.
3. Uranus has 11 rings, made of dust, ice and bits of rock.
4. Uranus has 27 known moons.

8. Neptune

Neptune is the last planet in the orbit around the sun. It is 4497.1 million km from the sun. The temperature of Neptune is 48 k. The diameter of the planet is 48600 km. 

The Romans named the five planets closest to the Sun after their most important gods. Later, when telescopes were used, other planets were discovered. Astronomers decided to continue naming the planets after Roman Gods. Neptune, a blueish planet, was named after the Roman god of the sea.

Fun Facts about Neptune:

1. Neptune was named after the Roman god of the Sea.
2. Neptune was first discovered in 1846.
3. At first Neptune was called Le Verrier, named after the man who discovered it. 
4. Neptune was discovered by watching the orbit of Uranus.
5. Neptune is one of the Gas Giants.