|
Planets
in the Solar System
Mars Dust Storm (Right)
Why
did we use the title "Planets in the Solar
System"? That is because we now know of 66
exoplanets around 58 stars besides our own. This page
deals only with the planets in our solar system but you may wish
to visit the Website Exoplanets
and Their Stars.
You
will note some of our planets located on the sky maps presented
on the previous page. Their location relative to the
various constellations and their relative brightness makes them
easy to spot.
THE
PLANETS
Mercury |
Venus |
Earth |
Mars |
Jupiter |
Saturn |
Uranus |
Neptune |
Pluto |
Here
are a few interesting statistics about the various planets:
| Planet |
Revolution
Period
(yrs) |
Min.
Distance Sun (km) |
Max.
Distance Sun (km) |
Mass
(kg) |
Diameter
(km) |
| Mercury |
0.24 |
46,006,500 |
699,815,900 |
3.03E+23 |
4,879.4 |
| Venus |
0.62 |
107,463,300 |
108,934,900 |
4.87E+24 |
12,104 |
| Earth |
1 |
147,085,800 |
152,104,980 |
5.98E+24 |
12,756.3 |
| Mars |
1.88 |
206,615,600 |
249,251,000 |
6.2E+23 |
6794.4 |
| Jupiter |
11.86 |
740,509,500 |
816,355,600 |
1.90E+27 |
142,984 |
| Saturn |
29.46 |
1,347,877,000 |
1,506,750,000 |
5.69E+26 |
120,536 |
| Uranus |
84.01 |
2,734,799,000 |
3,007,665,000 |
8.67E+25 |
51,118 |
| Neptune |
164.79 |
4,458,765,000 |
4,534,406,000 |
1.02E+26 |
49,572 |
| Pluto |
248.54 |
4,435,128,000 |
7,524,587,000 |
1.29E+22 |
2,320 |
Mars
The
percentage of elements in the atmospheres of these planets vary
considerably as shown below:
| Planet |
Argon |
Carbon
Dioxide |
Helium |
Hydrogen |
Methane |
Nitrogen |
Oxygen |
Potassium |
Sodium |
Other |
| Mercury |
7 |
|
|
|
|
|
9.5 |
31.7 |
24.9 |
Trace |
| Venus |
|
96.4 |
|
|
|
3.4 |
|
|
|
Trace |
| Earth |
|
|
|
|
|
78 |
20.9 |
|
|
Trace |
| Mars |
1.6 |
95.3 |
|
|
|
2.6 |
|
|
|
Trace |
| Jupiter |
|
|
17 |
81 |
|
|
|
|
|
Trace |
| Saturn |
|
|
5 |
93 |
|
|
|
|
|
Trace |
| Uranus |
|
|
14 |
82 |
|
|
|
|
|
Trace |
| Neptune |
|
|
12 |
84 |
2 |
|
|
|
|
Trace |
| Pluto |
|
|
|
|
100 |
|
|
|
|
Trace |
|
