Download Time for a little planet

Time for a little planet-hopping!
Check out the chart b e l o w for facts on Earth and the other eight planets in our solar system.
YEAR (ONE ORBIT AROUND SUN)
IN EARTH TIME
MAIN GASES IN
ATMOSPHERE
PLANETS
DIAMETER
MERCURY
3,029 miles (4,878 km)
88 days
59 days
Traces of argon,
neon, helium
VENUS
7,515 miles (12,102 km)
224 days, 17 hours
243 days
Carbon dioxide
(very thick)
EARTH
7,921 miles (12,756 km)
365 days, 6 hours
1 day, 23 hours, 56
minutes
Nitrogen, oxygen
MARS
4,218 miles (6,792 km)
687 days, 23 hours
24 hours, 37 minutes
Carbon dioxide (thin)
JUPITER
88,793 miles (142,984 km)
11 years, 11 months
9 hours, 56 minutes
Hydrogen, helium
SATURN
74,853 miles (120,536 km)
29 years, 5 months
10 hours, 39 minutes
Hydrogen, helium
URANUS
31,744 miles (51,118 km)
84 years
17 hours, 14 minutes
Hydrogen, helium,
methane
NEPTUNE
30,757 miles (49,528 km)
164 years
16 hours, 7 minutes
Hydrogen, helium,
methane
PLUTO
1,430 miles (2,300 km)
248 years
6 days, 9 hours, 18
minutes
Possibly nitrogen,
carbon dioxide,
and/or methane
D A Y (ONE ROTATION ON AXIS)
IN EARTH TIME
Searching for that fun-in-the-Sun vacation spot? Check out the chart
below. It shows the average distance of each planet from the Sun.
MERCURY
36 million miles (58 million km)
JUPITER
480 million miles (768 million km)
VENUS
67 million miles (107 million km)
SATURN
890 million miles (1,424 million km)
EARTH
93 million miles (149 million km)
URANUS
1,790 million miles (2,848 million km)
MARS
140 million miles (224 million km)
NEPTUNE
2,800 million miles (4,480,000 million km)
PLUTO
3,680 million miles (5,872,000 million km)
NUMBER
OF MOONS
WEIGHT OF 110-LB.
(50 KG) KID
CLAIM TO FAME
0
41.0 lb. (18.5 kg)
Daytime temperature 880°F (470°C); nighttime -300°F (-183°C)
0
97.0 lb. (44.0 kg)
Rotates east to west instead of west to east, as other planets do
1
110.0 lb. (50.0 kg)
2
42.0 lb. (19.0 kg)
Only body known to have life; mild climate, water as solid, liquid, gas
Ice-capped poles, four seasons, global dust storms
At least 16
276.5 lb. (125.5 kg)
Colorful bands of gas, marked by lightning, with auroras near poles; Great Red Spot
is storm bigger than Earth
At least 18
118.0 lb. (53.5 kg)
Circled by colorful ice rings ranging in width from fingernails to houses
17
102.5 lb. (46.5 kg)
Tipped sideways so pole—not equator—faces Sun
8
135.5 lb. (61.5 kg)
Winds of 1,500 mph (930 kph) highest recorded on any planet
1
5.5 lb (2.5 kg)
Tiny size, offbeat orbit; some people argue it's not even a planet
Activity
SPACED O U T ! Got an orange and access to a
football field? Then you can create your own
solar system. Put the orange on one goal line.
This is the Sun. Using the chart above and a
scale of 1 yard = 10 million miles, Mercury is a
speck of dust about halfway between the 3 and
the 4 yard lines. Now locate the positions of the
rest of the planets. (Although the yard lines on a
football field go from 0 to 50 and back to 0, treat
them as 100 continuous yard lines.)
Can you score a touchdown and place all the
planets on the field? What yard line do you land
on? Is there even enough room? If not, what
scale would you have to use to fit all the planets
on the same football field? (If you can't get to a
football field, no problem. Use graph paper.
One unit = 10 million miles. Use as many sheets
as you need. Tape them together and make a
wall chart.)
Bonus: The farther the planets from the Sun, the
more spaced out they are. Figure out how many
times farther each planet is from the Sun than
the previous one.
DISCOVERY EDUCATION SCIENCE CONNECTION