Facts About Planets

Planets of our solar system

The solar system is defined as everything under the influence of our star, the sun. This includes the planets, the dwarf planets, the moons, comets, asteroids, and the interplanetary dust and gas. In total, the solar system stretches out 50,000 times the Earth’s distance from the sun. But clearly, the principle members of the family are the planets.

We all learned in elementary school that the planets, starting nearest the sun, are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn Uranus and Neptune. Except for the last two, all of these planets were known to ancient sky watchers, and they are all visible with just your eyes. Of course, many of us learned in school that Pluto was the ninth planet. But that is another topic.

There are some interesting facts that make each planet unique. Here are a few for your next conversation at a tea party or by the office cooler:

All planets orbit in a counter-clockwise direction (looking down from above the solar system).

Almost all planets rotate in a counter-clockwise direction (exception noted below).

Mercury is closest to the sun, is the smallest planet and has the most eccentric elliptical orbit of the planets.

Venus rotates backwards, and very slowly.

Earth is the only place with liquid water on its surface and lots of oxygen in its atmosphere. So far, it is also the only place we have found life in the universe.

Mars has the largest volcano and the largest valley in the solar system.

Jupiter is the largest planet, its magnetic field extends out past Saturn and the Great Red Spot (a giant hurricane-like storm) has been there for at least 300 years.

Saturn – oh, the rings. It has the only rings visible from Earth.

Uranus has its axis of rotation in the plane of its orbit. This means it is tilted over on its side.

Neptune was discovered through mathematics. It is the only planet that was found using a prediction based on perturbations (wobbles) in another planet’s (Uranus’) orbit.

For more information on the universe and activities happening at the Insperity Observatory, please check our website: www.humbleisd.net/observatory. You can also sign-up for our email distribution list. Happy sky watching.

Dr. Aaron Clevenson is the lead astronomer at the Insperity Observatory, located at Jack Fields Elementary School in Humble.

What is A Tremolite – Fibrous Silicate Mineral Found in Planets

(Or the presence of water in the past) in the planet Venus. Venus and Earth are similar in structure. They both have metallic cores and solid rocky surfaces. However, Venus is very hot (660 to 740K, compared to Earth’s 288K average surface temperature) and dry, even hotter than Mercury which is nearer to the sun. This is because of Venus’ atmosphere which is high in Carbon dioxide, causing a Greenhouse Effect

Venus may be hot and dry but it has a high D/H or deuterium to hydrogen ratio. Scientists state that this is an indication of a lost primordial ocean or the presence of water being supplied to the surface either by volcanic outgassing or by comets which are known to carry water-particles. However, Venus is also known for the high rate of hydrogen loss. Venus may therefore indeed have had more water in the past.