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The Sun
The Romans called the sun Sol, which in English means
sun. In ancient Greece, the sun was called Helios. Every
planet in the solar system and Pluto rotate around the
sun. The sun is not a planet and is actually a big star.
The solar system is named after the scientific name for
the sun, sol. The sun is definitely the largest thing in
the solar system.
The moon
• 27 days, 7 hours, 43 minutes, 11.6
seconds to go all the way around the
Earth and return to its starting
position.
• the Moon orbiting counterclockwise
from west to east.
• The Moon is 4.5 billion years old.
The Earth
• In astronomy mythology, her Greek name was Gaea. Earth
was the mother of the mountains, valleys, streams and all
other land formations. She was married to Uranus.
• Earth is the only planet whose English name does not
derive from Greek or Roman mythology. The name comes
from Old English and Germanic language. There are, of
course, hundreds of other names for the planet in other
languages
• astronomy mythology, her Greek name was Gaea. Earth
was the mother of the mountains, valleys, streams and all
other land formations. She was married to Uranus.
Pluto
Pluto is a dwarf planet. People have said it
isn't a planet, it’s actually a dwarf planet.
A dwarf planet orbits the sun like any
other planet, except it’s smaller. It is so
small it can’t clear other objects out of it’s
path.
Mercury
• Mercury is the 8th biggest planet and is the
closest planet to the sun.
• Mercury has now been visited by two
spacecraft, Mariner 10 and MESSENGER.
Jupiter
Jupiter was King of the Roman Gods and the patron
of the Roman state. To the ancient Greeks, he was
known as Zeus, ruler of the Greek Gods and Mount
Olympus. Jupiter is so big you could squeeze 1,000
earths in it. The swirls and bands you see around
Jupiter are actually the top of clouds.
Venus
Venus is the Roman goddess of love and beauty.
She is known as Aphrodite in Greek mythology.
The planet is so named probably because it is
the brightest of the planets known to the
ancients. Venus is the second planet from the
Sun, and the sixth largest of all the nine planets.
Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun, and the second
largest of the nine planets. Saturn's rings, unlike the
rings of the other gas planets, are very bright.
When viewing Saturn through a small telescope, it
appears a bit "squished." This is because its structure
isn't very rigid (it's mostly gas and liquid), and it
becomes slightly "compressed" as it spins very quickly.
neptune
• In Roman mythology Neptune was the god of the Sea. He is
known as Poseidon in Greek mythology. The planet was
probably named after the sea gods because of its deep blue
colour. Neptune also has rings. The Voyager 2 spacecraft
showed scientists that Neptune indeed has complete rings
with bright clumps. Like Uranus and Jupiter, Neptune's rings
are very dark and very faint. Scientists still haven't figured
out what they are made of yet.
Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and
the third largest of the nine planets (in size).
Uranus is larger in size but smaller in weight
than Neptune. Uranus has been visited by only
one spacecraft, Voyager 2 on Jan 24 1986.
mars
Mars is sometimes referred to as the "Red Planet.”
the largest mountain in the Solar System! Olympus
Mons rises a full 24 km (78,000 ft.).
On Aug 6, 1996, David McKay announced the first
identification of organic compounds in a Martian
meteorite. It is suggested this may be evidence of
ancient Martian life.
This are just some of the basics
about space! There are so
many questions to be
answered!