By: Brianne DiephuisEd.205 Winter 2008

•Planets•Stars•Constellations

•About the author

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•Mercury•Venus•Earth •Mars•Jupiter•Saturn•Uranus•Neptune

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Click Here to Watch a Video about the Planets.

•Fastest and shortest orbit out of all the planets. Takes 88 days to orbit the sun•Mercury has the widest temperature range

•Temperature: 90-700K•Diameter: 4,880 km•Closest planet to the sun•Oldest surface- three major surfaces

•Smooth plains•Intercrater plains•Rugged highlands

•Mercury has the densest core•Mercury is the hottest planet that also has ice caps•Has a double sunrise•Mercury is very similar to the Earth Moon•Mercury is a terrestrial planet•Mercury has a weak atmosphere containing hydrogen, oxygen, calcium, and potassium.

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•Second planet from the Sun•Venus’s orbit around the sun is closest to a perfect circle•Only planet that the rotational period is longer than the revolutionary period (a day on Venus is longer than a year!)•Venus had more volcanoes than any other planet•Only planet that does not have a magnetic field•Hottest surface temperature out of any of the planets

•Roughly 900 degrees•Venus reflects the most light of any other planet•Venus is the only planet that rotates slowly on its axis clockwise (opposite of all other planets)•Diameter: 12,103.6 km

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•Third planet from the Sun•Earth is the only planet that contains life•Has the greatest surface percentage of water- wettest planet•Has the most diverse weather patterns•Earth had the youngest surface out of all the planets•Densest planet•Has the most active plate tectonics•Earth is the only planet that has the existence of the water cycle•Has only one moon•Diameter: 12,756.3 km•Earth is divided into several layers

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•Mars is the fourth planet from the sun•Mars is the reddest planet•Mars is the rustiest planet•It had the largest known floods in the solar system•Mars is the only planet that snows carbon dioxide•Hellan Planitia is the largest impact crater, no other planet has a crater as large•Mars has the largest volcano- Olympus Mons•Olympus Mons is the only geological feature that protrudes from any planets atmosphere•Mars has sandstorms that encompass the entire planet•Diameter 6,794 km

mars

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•Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun•Jupiter is the largest planet in the whole solar system•Diameter: 142,984 km•Jupiter has the strongest gravitational pull and magnetic field•Jupiter has the quickest rotation axis•Jupiter has a great red spot, which is actually a storm. The storm is large enough to hold three Earths!•Jupiter has the most moons•Some of the moons are:

•Ganymede is the largest•Europa is the smoothest•Io is the most volcanically active

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•Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun•Saturn has the most complex ring system•Second largest jovian (gas) planet composed of 75% hydrogen and 25% helium•Lowest density of any planet•Saturn’s moon Titian has the thickest atmosphere of any moon•Saturn’s moons have the largest variety of sizes •Saturn’s rings are the only rings that contain spokes•The rings are made up of mostly water and ice, but contain some dust and rocks•Diameter: 120,536 km

saturn

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Uranus…•Is the seventh planet from the Sun•Has the most unusual seasons•Is the only planet that can have direct sunlight on both poles•Is only planet that rotates on its side•Also has rings, they are the most well defined•Has the strongest magnetic fields•Has only one moon, Miranda which was destroyed and then reconstructed•Diameter: 51,118 km

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Neptune…•Is the eighth planet from the Sun•Has the fastest winds reaching 700-1500 mph•Is the smallest of the 4 gas planets•Is the bluest planet, and gets its color from methane•Has rings but they are not complete, they are only faint arcs that are made from dust•Has a storm system called “Scooter” and it is the fastest moving system in the whole solar system•Is the densest of the gas planets•Has clouds that protrude from its atmosphere•Has a moon Triton that orbits opposite Neptune’s rotation•Diameter: 49,532•Since Neptune was discovered is it yet to make a full revolution around the sun.•Neptune is the farthest planet from the sun

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•Andromeda (the princess) and Orion (the hunter)•Sagittarius (the archer) and Cassiopeia (the queen)•Cancer (the crab) and Taurus (the bull)•Aquarius (the water beaver) and Gemini (the twins)•Scorpius (the scorpion) and Leo (the lion)

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Andromeda:Constellation in the northern sky and is best known for holding the galaxy Andromeda. The brightest star in it is Alpheratz.

Orion: One of the largest and well known constellations. It is found on the celestial equator. Its three prominent stars are in the belt. The two brightest stars are Rigel and Betelgeuse.

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Sagittarius:Also called the teapot, the milky way looks like the steam rising from the spout. Lies between Ophiuchus to the west and Capricornus to the east. Has 12 main stars. Best seen during the summer.

Cassiopeia:Located in the northern sky. Has five main stars and they are all bright. It is in the shape if a “W”.

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Cancer:One of the 12 zodiac constellations. It is small and dim . Located between Gemini and Leo. It has zero bright stars

Taurus:It sits large and prominent in the Northern Hemisphere winter sky, between Aries to the west and Gemini to the east; to the north lie Perseus and Auriga, to the southeast Orion, and to the southwest Eridanus and Cetus. It has 7 main stars and 3 bright stars.

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Aquarius:Situated between Capricornus and Pisces Aquarius is one of the oldest recognized constellations along the zodiac . It has 2 bright stars and 10, 22 main stars

Gemini:Known as "the twins". It is part of the winter sky, lying between Taurus to the west and the dim Cancer to the east, with Auriga and the near-invisible Lynx to the north and Monoceros and Canis Minor to the south. It has 4 bright stars and 8-17 main stars

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Scorpius:It lies between Libra to the west and Sagittarius to the east. It is a large constellation located in the southern hemisphere near the center of the Milky Way. It has 15 main stars and 13 bright stars. Leo:Leo lies between dim Cancer to the west and Virgo to the east. This constellation contains many bright stars , it has 3. It has 9, 15 main stars.

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•Types of Stars•HR Diagram•The Sun•Pictures

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•Black Dwarf- the remains of a dead white dwarf star after its heat is radiated into space.•Main-Sequence Star- It is an ordinary star, one of about 90% of the stars that can be seen from Earth. It is much smaller than a giant star. It burns hydrogen into helium through nuclear fusion within itself. An example is our Sun.•Red Giant- It is a large, bright star, many times larger than the Sun, but with a cool surface. It is believed to be in the end stage of its life cycle.•Supergiant- It is the largest and most luminous type of star, being a dying star. It has used up its hydrogen fuel and has begun to expand and cool.•White Dwarf- It is a very dense, small, hot star in the last stage of its life. It occurs when a red giant sheds its outer layers as a planetary nebula. The electrons and protons have been packed as closely as possible by gravity.

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The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram (HR Diagram) shows stellar evolution. This diagram shows the different stages stars go through. Stars are categorized by their color, luminosity, absolute magnitude, and spectral class.

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This Sun is a main sequence star at the very center of our universe. The Sun is made up of hydrogen (74%), helium (25%), and very few other elements. The Sun is about 4.57 billion years old, and is said to be about half way through its main sequence evolution. The Sun will spend about 10 billion years as a main sequence star. After the Sun is through being a main sequence star it will become a red giant. The sun is not a solid, gas, or liquid. It is substance called Plasma. The temperature of the sun is close to 13,600,000 Kelvin.

Solar internal structure

The Sun is composed of many layers. The first is the core, this is the suns main source for energy. The core has the hottest temperature, about 15 million degrees Kelvin. The next layer is the Radiation Zone. Here energy/heat is transferred to and from the core. Convection Zone is the next layer, here energy is transferred outward. Next is the Photosphere, this is the visible surface of the Sun. Above this later the light is free to escape into space. The Chromosphere is second to last. This is a thin layer above the visible surface. Last is the Corona. This is larger in volume that the Sun itself.

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Black Dwarf

Light Emerging from a Supergiant

Main Sequence Stars

White Dwarf

Red Giant

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My name is Brianne Diephuis. I am currently sophomore a student at Grand Valley State University working toward a major in Psychology and Special Education with a minor in Elementary Education. I love the summer and being able to do anything outside. In my free time I enjoy reading, being with my family and friends, and dancing. I love working with little kids and I can not wait to be a teacher some day.

Send Me an Email

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http://www.nineplanets.org/

Stars:http://www.innvista.com/science/astronomy/types.htmhttp://www.spacestationinfo.com/layers-sun.htm

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