| FUN FACTS |
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SUN
1.The outer layers of the Sun exhibit differential rotation: at the equator the surface rotates once every 25.4 days; near
the poles it's as much as 36 days
2.The suns energy output is 386 quintillion megawatts. That is 386,000,000,000,000,000,000 Megawatts. Only a
extremely small fraction of this actually reaches Earth, but what does reach us is still more energy then the entire human
civilization will ever need.
3. At its current rate of "burn" the sun will last for approximately 5 billion years before it enters it's final stages of life.
4.The sun is 93 million miles from earth, yet it's 270,000 times closer than the next nearest star.
5.During a total solar eclipse, local temperatures can drop up to 20F degrees
1.The outer layers of the Sun exhibit differential rotation: at the equator the surface rotates once every 25.4 days; near
the poles it's as much as 36 days
2.The suns energy output is 386 quintillion megawatts. That is 386,000,000,000,000,000,000 Megawatts. Only a
extremely small fraction of this actually reaches Earth, but what does reach us is still more energy then the entire human
civilization will ever need.
3. At its current rate of "burn" the sun will last for approximately 5 billion years before it enters it's final stages of life.
4.The sun is 93 million miles from earth, yet it's 270,000 times closer than the next nearest star.
5.During a total solar eclipse, local temperatures can drop up to 20F degrees
Mercury
1.A "day" on Mercury is 180 Earth days long. A Mercury year is only 88 Earth days long.
2.Although it is the closest planet to the sun, it is NOT the hottest planet. Still it is 350 degrees C. during the day and
-170 during the night.
3.Mercury's diameter measures 3030 miles across. Earths moon is 2160 miles across.
4.The atmospheric pressure on Mercury is 1/10,000,000,000 of a millibar.
5.The main element in what atmosphere Mercury DOES have is Helium, presumably drawn for the solar wind.
1.A "day" on Mercury is 180 Earth days long. A Mercury year is only 88 Earth days long.
2.Although it is the closest planet to the sun, it is NOT the hottest planet. Still it is 350 degrees C. during the day and
-170 during the night.
3.Mercury's diameter measures 3030 miles across. Earths moon is 2160 miles across.
4.The atmospheric pressure on Mercury is 1/10,000,000,000 of a millibar.
5.The main element in what atmosphere Mercury DOES have is Helium, presumably drawn for the solar wind.
Venus
1.One Venus year is 225 earth days, One Venus day is 243 earth days.
2.Venus is easily the brightest planet in the night sky.
3.Franz von Paula Gruithuisen thought it was so bright due to the illuminations on the surface lit by the local inhabitants
to celebrate the succession of a new emperor.
4.Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system. A greenhouse effect out of control, it is 480 C. on the surface. That is
hot enough to melt lead!
5.The atmospheric pressure on Venus is 1,323 lbs per square inch. Earth is 14.7 at sea level.
1.One Venus year is 225 earth days, One Venus day is 243 earth days.
2.Venus is easily the brightest planet in the night sky.
3.Franz von Paula Gruithuisen thought it was so bright due to the illuminations on the surface lit by the local inhabitants
to celebrate the succession of a new emperor.
4.Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system. A greenhouse effect out of control, it is 480 C. on the surface. That is
hot enough to melt lead!
5.The atmospheric pressure on Venus is 1,323 lbs per square inch. Earth is 14.7 at sea level.
Earth
1.There is no "earth rise" on the moon. The earth remains stationery in the lunar sky.
2.The phase of the moon seen from earth is the exact compliment of the phase of earth viewed from the moon
3.The moon is larger the Pluto
4.At least 4 eclipses happen every year.
5.A solar eclipse can only happen during a new moon. A lunar eclipse can only happen during a full moon.
1.There is no "earth rise" on the moon. The earth remains stationery in the lunar sky.
2.The phase of the moon seen from earth is the exact compliment of the phase of earth viewed from the moon
3.The moon is larger the Pluto
4.At least 4 eclipses happen every year.
5.A solar eclipse can only happen during a new moon. A lunar eclipse can only happen during a full moon.
Mars
1. Less then a century ago, there was a prize offered in France (the Guzman Prize) to be given to the first person to
establish contact with beings of another world. Mars was excluded from the contest for being too easy!
2. A day on Mars in known as a Sol. There are 668 sols in a Martian year.
3. Liquid water cannot exist on the surface of Mars. This is because the atmospheric pressure is so little, the water will
boil and evaporate even at -23 degrees C. What doesn't evaporate would freeze almost instantaneously.
4. Mars hosts the tallest mountain in the solar system. Olympus Mons is a huge extinct volcano 15 miles tall. Nearly twice
as tall as Mt. Everest.
5. Mars has a pink sky
1. Less then a century ago, there was a prize offered in France (the Guzman Prize) to be given to the first person to
establish contact with beings of another world. Mars was excluded from the contest for being too easy!
2. A day on Mars in known as a Sol. There are 668 sols in a Martian year.
3. Liquid water cannot exist on the surface of Mars. This is because the atmospheric pressure is so little, the water will
boil and evaporate even at -23 degrees C. What doesn't evaporate would freeze almost instantaneously.
4. Mars hosts the tallest mountain in the solar system. Olympus Mons is a huge extinct volcano 15 miles tall. Nearly twice
as tall as Mt. Everest.
5. Mars has a pink sky
Jupiter
1.Jupiter is more massive the all the planets in the solar system combined.
2. A year on Jupiter is almost 12 times that of ours on earth. But the day is less then 10 hours.
3. At the core of Jupiter, there is a thick shell of liquid hydrogen, so compressed by the intense gravity, it takes on the
characteristics of a metal.
4. It was once thought that Jupiter is a "failed star"
5. The "Great Red Spot" is a hurricane 2 times larger then Earth. And you thought Katrina was bad!
1.Jupiter is more massive the all the planets in the solar system combined.
2. A year on Jupiter is almost 12 times that of ours on earth. But the day is less then 10 hours.
3. At the core of Jupiter, there is a thick shell of liquid hydrogen, so compressed by the intense gravity, it takes on the
characteristics of a metal.
4. It was once thought that Jupiter is a "failed star"
5. The "Great Red Spot" is a hurricane 2 times larger then Earth. And you thought Katrina was bad!
Saturn
1. Back in the time of the ancients, Saturn took a very long time to cross the sky. So the ancients named it Saturn after
the god of time.
2. Saturn has a very low density. Lower then water in fact, and is believed that if there was a ocean vast enough, it
would float like a big yellow sponge.
3. When Galileo first saw Saturn through a telescope, he thought he was looking at a planet with 2 very large stationary
moons on either side.
4. Saturn rotates faster at the equator then at the poles. Because of this Saturn appears to be flattened.
5. Saturn has more moons then any other planet with 18 confirmed, and possibly close to 60
1. Back in the time of the ancients, Saturn took a very long time to cross the sky. So the ancients named it Saturn after
the god of time.
2. Saturn has a very low density. Lower then water in fact, and is believed that if there was a ocean vast enough, it
would float like a big yellow sponge.
3. When Galileo first saw Saturn through a telescope, he thought he was looking at a planet with 2 very large stationary
moons on either side.
4. Saturn rotates faster at the equator then at the poles. Because of this Saturn appears to be flattened.
5. Saturn has more moons then any other planet with 18 confirmed, and possibly close to 60
Uranus
1.Uranus is tilted sideways on its axis. Almost like a big rock hit it and knocked it over on its side.
2. Uranus was discovered by accident by William Hershel in 1781. When he found it, he wasn't even looking for planets.
It was even discovered before then and even received a identification number, 34 Tauri, but no one thought it might be a
planet.
3. Uranus, like Saturn has a ring system which was discovered in 1977.
4. Uranus appears to be blue-green because the high concentrations of methane in the atmosphere absorb all the red
light.
5. Uranus has 5 confirmed moons. The biggest one being only 1578 Km across.
1.Uranus is tilted sideways on its axis. Almost like a big rock hit it and knocked it over on its side.
2. Uranus was discovered by accident by William Hershel in 1781. When he found it, he wasn't even looking for planets.
It was even discovered before then and even received a identification number, 34 Tauri, but no one thought it might be a
planet.
3. Uranus, like Saturn has a ring system which was discovered in 1977.
4. Uranus appears to be blue-green because the high concentrations of methane in the atmosphere absorb all the red
light.
5. Uranus has 5 confirmed moons. The biggest one being only 1578 Km across.
Neptune
1. Like Jupiter Neptune has a great spot called the Great Dark Spot respectively.
2. Neptune has the strongest winds in the solar system. At the equator it can blow as fast as 1500 feet per second!
3. Neptune generates more heat then it is given from the sun. Still it's temperature is a chilly -220 C.
4. Neptune's largest moon Triton, is the coldest body discovered so far in the solar system. -236 C. This is even colder
then Pluto
5. Triton even has geysers, but instead of shooting water like Old Faithful, they eject liquid nitrogen.
1. Like Jupiter Neptune has a great spot called the Great Dark Spot respectively.
2. Neptune has the strongest winds in the solar system. At the equator it can blow as fast as 1500 feet per second!
3. Neptune generates more heat then it is given from the sun. Still it's temperature is a chilly -220 C.
4. Neptune's largest moon Triton, is the coldest body discovered so far in the solar system. -236 C. This is even colder
then Pluto
5. Triton even has geysers, but instead of shooting water like Old Faithful, they eject liquid nitrogen.
Pluto
1. Pluto is red
2. It takes Pluto 248 years to make one orbit around the sun. Every 230 years or so, Pluto is actually the 8th object in
the solar system. The last time this happened was 1989-1999.
3. Pluto orbits the sun in the opposite direction in comparison to the rest of the planets.
4.Pluto has 3 moons; Charon, Nix, and Hydra. Because Charon is about half the size of Pluto, the barry center
(balancing point) lies beyond the surface of Pluto.
5. Even though Pluto is 3,720,000,000 miles from the sun, the sunlight is still 1500 times brighter then our full moon.
1. Pluto is red
2. It takes Pluto 248 years to make one orbit around the sun. Every 230 years or so, Pluto is actually the 8th object in
the solar system. The last time this happened was 1989-1999.
3. Pluto orbits the sun in the opposite direction in comparison to the rest of the planets.
4.Pluto has 3 moons; Charon, Nix, and Hydra. Because Charon is about half the size of Pluto, the barry center
(balancing point) lies beyond the surface of Pluto.
5. Even though Pluto is 3,720,000,000 miles from the sun, the sunlight is still 1500 times brighter then our full moon.
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