SOLAR SYSTEM

BY: DR. ABHA ARORA

OUR SOLAR SYSTEM

THE SUN ALONG WITH THE EIGHT PLANETS AND THEIR MOONS CONSTITUTES THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

MERCURY ( BUDHA)

The planet Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun within the solar system. Because of its closeness to the sun , it is one of the hottest planets in the solar system.

It is visible just before sunset or just before sunrise, and appears like a bright star in the sky,commonly called MORNING OR EVENING STAR

• Mercury was named by the Romans after their god of the same name. In Roman mythology Mercury is the god of commerce, travel and thievery, the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Hermes, the messenger of the Gods. The planet probably received this name because it moves so quickly across the sky.

• Surface of Mercury is very similar to our own moon, heavily cratered and barren.

• Temperatures on Mercury can range anywhere from 90 to 700 degrees K!

VENUS ( SHUKRA )

• Venus is the second closest planet to the sun. Viewed from earth it is the brightest of the planets.

• In fact if you know where to look it is possible to see it in broad daylight. At night it is bright enough to cast shadows. It's brightness is due to two things. Firstly it is quite close to earth compared to the other planets. Secondly it is highly reflective and a lot of sunlight bounces off the planet.

• In the 1970s American and Russian probes were sent through the clouds to measure surface temperature and analyze the atmosphere. None of these probes lasted very long and the reasons soon became clear. The temperature at ground level was 840 degrees Fahrenheit, the atmospheric pressure was 90 times that of earth and the atmosphere was highly corrosive. Basically if you send a probe to Venus it will either melt, be crushed or rust.

EARTH ( PRITHVI )

• It is the third planet from the sun.

• The earth is the only planet in the solar system on which life exists , on account of correct distance from the sun , correct temperature and the presence of air , water and soil.

MARS ( MANGAL )

• Named after the Roman god of war, the planet Mars is located four planets from the Sun. Commonly referred to as “The Red Planet,” Mars tends to give off a reddish hue when

viewed from Earth.

• The average recorded temperature on Mars is -63° C (-81° F) with a maximum temperature of 20° C (68° F) and a minimum of -140° C (-220° F).

JUPITER( BRIHASPATI )

• Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and by far the largest. Jupiter is more than twice as massive as all the other planets combined (the mass of Jupiter is 318 times that of Earth).

• Jupiter is the fourth brightest object in the sky (after the Sun, the Moon and Venus). It has been known since prehistoric times as a bright "wandering star".

Jupiter has rings like Saturn's, but much fainter and smaller

• When it is in the nighttime sky, Jupiter is often the brightest "star" in the sky (it is second only to Venus, which is seldom visible in a dark sky).

SATURN ( SHANI )

• Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest. In Roman mythology, Saturn is the god of agriculture . Saturn is the root of the English word "Saturday"

• Saturn is visibly flattened (oblate) when viewed through a small telescope;

• Saturn is the least dense of the planets; its specific gravity (0.7) is less than that of water.

• Saturn has 53 named satellites (as of spring 2010):

URANUS ( INDRA )

•Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and is the third largest in the solar system.

The planet Uranus has 27 moons, each named after Shakespearean characters.

• After much debate about what to call it, Uranus was named after the Greek god of the sky.

NEPTUNE ( VARUN )

• Neptune is the outermost planet of the gas giants. If Neptune were hollow, it could contain nearly 60 Earths. Neptune orbits the Sun every 165 years. A day on Neptune is 16 hours and 6.7 minutes.

Thank

you