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UOI Independent Research Home Work
Celestial Body definition:
natural objects visible in the sky
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/celestial+body
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/celestial_object
Indentify Some Celestial Bodies/Object
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
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Moon
Sun
Planets
Star
(Earth itself is not included)
Describe characteristics of each celestial object completely:
(name, position in the solar system, mass, gravity, orbit, rotation on it’s axis, temperature, satellites/moons,
composition, atmosphere)

Planets:

Mercury:
 57.9 million km from the sun
 Mass: 328.5E21 kg (0.055 Earth mass)
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
The day is 1.999 times as long as a single year
Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/14008/rotation-ofmercury/#ixzz2c2s0nQ1O
Mercury's surface experiences the greatest temperature variation of all the planets, ranging from
100 K (−173 °C; −280 °F) at night to 700 K (427 °C; 800 °F) during the day at some equatorial
regions.
No moons
http://www.universetoday.com/13992/composition-ofmercury/
Mercury has a very tenuous and highly variable atmosphere (surface-bound exosphere) containing
hydrogen, helium, oxygen, sodium, calcium, potassium and water vapor. n
Sun
o
Sun’s position in the solar system:
Sun

o
sun’s mass: 1.989E30 kg
o
Gravity:
o
Rotation on it's axis:
Sun rotates once every 27 days at the equator, but only once in 31 days at the poles.
o
Temperature: 5,778 K
o
Composition:
Venus:
o
o
o
o
o
o
Position in the solar system: 57.9 million km far from the sun.
Mass: 4.867E24 kg (0.815 Earth mass)
Gravity: 8.87 m/s² Venus, Gravity
Orbit: 225 days (orbital period)
Rotation on it’s axis: Venus, on the other hand, takes 243 days to turn once on its axis Read more:
http://www.universetoday.com/36687/rotation-of-venus/#ixzz2cHaIsYBb
Temperature: the average temperature of Venus is 460 degrees Celsius
Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/14306/temperature-of-venus/#ixzz2cCjSDMc0
No moons
o
Composition:
o
Mars:
o
o
o
Atmosphere:
o

Position in the solar system: 227.8 million km away from the sun.
Mass: 639E21 kg (0.107 Earth mass)
Gravity: 3.711 m/s²
o
o
o
o
o
o

Jupiter
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
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Saturn
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

Uranus
o
o
o
o
o
o
Orbit: 687 days (orbital period)
Rotation on it’s axis: On Mars it takes 686.98 days (Earth days)
http://www.windows2universe.org/kids_space/period.html
Temperature: On average, the temperature on Mars is about minus 80 degrees F (minus 60 degrees
C). In winter, near the poles temperatures can get down to minus 195 degrees F (minus 125 degrees
C). A summer day on Mars may get up to 70 degrees F (20 degrees C) near the equator, but at night
the temperature can plummet to about minus 100 degrees F (minus 73 C).
http://www.space.com/16907-what-is-the-temperature-of-mars.html
2 Moons
Composition:
Atmosphere: The atmosphere of Venus is composed of about 96% carbon dioxide, with most of the
remainder being nitrogen. http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/venus/atmosphere.html
Position in the solar system: 778 million km away from the sun.
Mass: 1.898E27 kg (317.8 Earth mass)
Gravity: 24.79 m/s²
Orbit: 12 years (orbital period)
Rotation on it’s axis: Jupiter has the fastest rotation of all the planets in the Solar System, completing
one rotation on its axis every 9.9 hours.
Read more:
http://www.universetoday.com/23914/rotation-of-jupiter/#ixzz2cHe9w8ZK
Temperature: at the upper edge of the cloud cover, the temperature is thought to be -145 degrees C.
Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/15097/temperature-of-jupiter/#ixzz2cHijlYKP
At least 16 moons
Composition: Jupiter is a ball of almost entirely hydrogen and helium.
Read more:
http://www.universetoday.com/23914/rotation-of-jupiter/#ixzz2cHdRkTLq
Atmosphere: It is mostly made of molecular hydrogen and helium in roughly solar proportions; other
chemical compounds are present only in small amounts and include methane, ammonia, hydrogen
sulfide and water.
Position in the solar system: 1,427 million km away from the sun.
Mass: 568.3E24 kg (95.16 Earth mass)
Gravity: 10.44 m/s²
Orbit: 29 years
Rotation on it’s axis: 10.7 hours
Temperature: average temperature of minus 288 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 178 degrees Celsius)
http://www.space.com/18473-saturn-temperature.html
Moon: at least 17 moons
Composition: Saturn is predominantly composed of hydrogen and helium, the two basic gases of the
universe. The planet also bears traces of ices containing ammonia, methane, and water.
Atmosphere: Like the rest of the planet, the atmosphere of Saturn is made up approximately 75%
hydrogen and 25% helium, with trace amounts of other substances like water ice and methane.
Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/24029/atmosphere-ofsaturn/#ixzz2cJLqeAAB
Position in the solar system: 2,870 million km away from the sun.
Mass: 86.81E24 kg (14.54 Earth mass)
Gravity: 8.69 m/s²
Orbit: 84 years
Rotation on it’s axis: 17 hours
Temperature: The average temperature of the cloud tops on Uranus is 49 K (?224 °C).
o
Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/19282/temperature-of-uranus/#ixzz2cIZX8Lrf
Moon: at least 15 moons
Composition:
Atmosphere: Uranus (and Neptune) have different atmospheres from the larger Jupiter and Saturn.
Although their atmospheres are mostly hydrogen and helium, they have a higher proportion of ices,
like water, ammonia and methane. This is why astronomers call Uranus and Neptune “ice giants”.
Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/18859/atmosphere-of-uranus/#ixzz2cJSXPrCm
Neptune
o Position in the solar system: 5,900 million km away from the sun.
o Mass: 102.4E24 kg (17.15 Earth mass)
o Gravity: 11.15 m/s²
o Orbit: 165 years
o Rotation on it’s axis: 16 hours
o Temperature:
o Moon: 8 moons.
o
o

o
o

o
Moon
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Composition:
Atmosphere: Uranus (and Neptune) have different atmospheres from the larger Jupiter and Saturn.
Although their atmospheres are mostly hydrogen and helium, they have a higher proportion of ices,
like water, ammonia and methane. This is why astronomers call Uranus and Neptune “ice giants”.
Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/18859/atmosphere-of-uranus/#ixzz2cJSXPrCm
Position in solar system: one orbiting earth, two orbiting mars, at least 16 orbiting Jupiter, at least 17
orbiting Saturn, at least 15 orbiting Uranus, 8 orbiting Neptune.
Mass of the moon: 7.34767309 × 1022 kilograms
Moon Gravity: 1.622 m/s²
Moon orbital period: 27 days
Rotation on it’s axis: In fact, as the Moon travels around the Earth in a counter-clockwise orbit every
27.5 days, it also completes one full rotation on its axis – also moving in a counter-clockwise direction.
Temperature: When sunlight hits the moon's surface, the temperature can reach 253 degrees F (123
C). The "dark side of the moon" can have temperatures dipping to minus 243 F (minus 153 C).
Composition:
Atmosphere: One source of the lunar atmosphere is outgassing: the release of gases such as radon
and helium resulting from radioactive decay within the crust and mantle.