Traveler's Guide to the Planets-Nick Robinson

7/27/2019 Traveler's Guide to the Planets-Nick Robinson

1/9

A Travelers Guideto the PlanetsBy Nick Robinson


2/9

Mercury is the first planet in our solar system, it is 35.98 million

miles away from the Sun and 48 million away from Earth. The day is 58

days and 15.5 hours long, while the year is only 88 days. Its surface

temperature reaches a low of 200 K at the poles and a high of 800 K

across the rest of its surface.

Mercury is marked by an absence of any atmosphere, no waterexists there either but it does have a weak magnetic field. The surface is

marked by deep craters due to this lack of atmosphere. It has a mass of

3.28x1023kg and a radius of 1,516 miles.

MercuryThe Swift Planet


3/9

Venus is the second planet from the sun, being 67.24 million miles

from it. Its orbit is the most perfectly circular of all the planets, with an

eccentricity of less than 1%. It has a mass of 4.87x1024kg and a radius of

3760 miles. The length of a sidereal day on Venus is 243, while the year

lasts 225 days. Temperature-wise, the low here is 203 K and the high is

623 K.

The atmosphere of venus is quite harsh, much denser and hotter

than here on earth. The skies are filled with clouds of sulfuric acid which

rotate at high speeds. Its crust is very rigid and filled with volcanoes,

while there is no hydrosphere.

VenusThe Evening Star


4/9

Earth is the third planet from the sun, at 92.96 million miles away

from it. It has a mass of 5.97x1024kg and a radius of 3,959 miles. The day

lasts just short of 24 hours, and the year lasts 365.25 days. The highest

temperature observed here is 331 K and the lowest is 184 K.

The atmosphere is made up of a number of gases including

nitrogen and oxygen. It has a highly active lithosphere made up of a

system of tectonic plates, and a lush hydrosphere and biosphere. This isthe only planet in which life has been observed due to the abundance of

water and its ideal conditions.

EarthThe Home Planet


5/9

Mars is the fourth planet from the sun, coming in at 141.6 million

miles away from it. The martian day is very close to earth, 24 hours and 40

minutes. The year here is 687 days, and the planet has a radius of 2106

miles and a mass of 629x1021kg. It has a high temperature of 293 K but

can get as low as 213 K.

The atmosphere on Mars is dusty and composed of carbon dioxide

but traces of methane can also be found. It has a low atmospheric

pressure of 600 pascals, and rover findings indicate that there is water in

the form of ice.

MarsThe Red Planet


6/9

Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, with a radius of

43,411 miles and a mass of 1.898x1027kg. It is 483.8 million miles away

from the sun, with a low temperature of 128 K and a high temperature of

294 K. The day is just under 10 hours while the year lasts 12 earth years.

The atmosphere on Jupiter is marked by turbulent storms and is

made up of mostly hydrogen and helium gas. There is no lithosphere,

hydrosphere, or biosphere present as it is a gas giant.

JupiterThe Red Giant


7/9

The distinguishing feature of Saturn is its ring system, made up of

many ringlets of icy rock particles. It is 890.7 million miles from the sun,

has a radius of 36,184 miles, and a mass 568.3x1024kg. The day is 10

hours and 39 minutes, and the year is 10,800 days long. The temperature

can get as low as 296 K or as high as 350 K, making it a relatively cool

planet.

Saturns atmosphere is mostly hydrogen with some helium present,

and traces of methane and ammonia. The atmosphere is most similar to

Jupiters and possesses some storms, but Saturn has no hydrosphere or

biosphere.

SaturnThe Ringed Planet


8/9

Uranus is the 7th planet from the sun, at a distance of 1.79 billion

miles away from it. It has a mass of 86.8x1024kg and a radius of 15,759

miles. The day here is 17 hours and 14 minutes, and the year is 84 earth

years. It is very cold, having a temperature of only 50-60 K, sometimes

rising to 90-100 K.

The planet is tipped to the side, with its orbital axis nearly

perpendicular to its rotational axis. The atmosphere is very harsh, being

made up of frozen clouds of hydrogen. The blue color is from a relatively

high concentration of methane. Being a Jovian planet, it has no

lithosphere, biosphere, or hydrosphere.

UranusThe Ice Giant


9/9

Neptune is considered the last planet in the solar system, replacing

Pluto in this role after scientists determined that Pluto is not in fact a

planet. It is 2.8 billion miles from the sun, has a radius of 15,300 miles,

and a mass of 102.4x1024kg. Its day is 16 hours and 6 minutes, and has a

year length of 165 earth years. It is extremely frigid, with an average

surface temperature of only 55 K.

The atmosphere is very similar to Uranus, albeit with a slightly

higher concentration of methane which leads to its pure blue color. Itconsists of two layers, with the lower lower being home to tremendously

large storm systems, similar to what can be observed on Jupiter. Since it

is another gas giant, not lithosphere, hydrosphere, or biosphere can be

observed.

NeptuneThe Blue Planet

Documents

Traveler's Guide to the Planets-Nick Robinson