Planet Facts - Your Online Source for Information on Planets
You can get a more in-depth knowledge of our solar system by studying some basic planet facts that are available to us. According to the International Astronomical Union, a planet is defined as a celestial body, which orbits around a star and is big enough to acquire a spherical shape under the influence of its own gravity and on the other hand is quite small to cause thermonuclear fusion. A planet is required to have a clear orbit, which must not be influenced by the gravitational pull of any other bodies of comparable size.
Our solar system comprises of eight planets and a dwarf planet; furthermore, all of them orbit around the sun. They can be listed in the order from nearest to the farthest from sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto (considered as a dwarf planet now).
A planet can be broadly classified into two categories: Terrestrial Planets and Gas Giants. Terrestrial planets are those, which have a body made mainly of rocks. The planets that fall under this category are namely Earth, Mars, Venus and Mercury. The planets which are composed of dense gases are termed as Gas Giants. These would include Jupiter and Saturn. There is also a sub category known as Ice Giants and the planets under this category are composed of a huge proportion mixture of ice and rocks. This category includes Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.
All the planets are unique by themselves and each has its own set of awe-inspiring planet facts. Over a period of time, scientists have worked hard to provide this detailed data which helps us to build a deep understanding about our solar system.
• Mercury is the closet to the sun and its surface temperature varies between -279 F to 800 F. One mercury year is equal to 88 earth days and one mercury day equals to 59 earth days. Hey! Doesn’t that mean that there are less than two days in a mercury year? The diameter of Mercury is about 4878 km.
• Next is Venus having a diameter of 12104km and the surface temperature has been estimated to be 900F. It is the brightest planet and can easily be seen with the naked eye.
• Then there is our Earth with a diameter of 12756km and an approximate temperature of 56F. Three quarters of the earth is covered with water, and it has one moon.
• Mars has a diameter of 6795km and its surface temperature varies from -200F to 70F. It is the home of the largest volcano in the solar system. It has two moons.
• Jupiter is the largest planet having a diameter of 142985km and spins very fast on its axis. It is known to have 63 moons and 3 rings.
• Saturn is the second largest planet and has a diameter of 120537km and a temperature of about -300F. It has 33 moons and 4 main rings along with the thousands of smaller rings.
• Uranus is 51119km in diameter and the temperature at its surface is about -350F. It has 21 known moons and 11 rings.
• Neptune has a diameter of 50538km, surface temperature of about -260F, 13 known moons and possesses 4 rings.
• Farthest from the Sun is the dwarf planet Pluto with a diameter of 2320km and a surface temperature of -370F. It has 3 moons.
No doubt these planet facts contribute to update our knowledge regarding the solar system.