Planet Research

Find and record the following information for each of the eight planets in the solar
system (you can include Pluto, but you dont have to)
Name of
Planet:

Mercury

Distance from
Sun:

35.98 million miles

Diameter:

3,030 miles

Length of Year:

88 days

Length of Day:

58 days, 15 hours, 30 minutes

Temperature:

801 degrees Fahrenheit

Atmosphere:

Hydrogen, Helium, Oxygen, Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium

Major features
(rings, moons,
etc)
One more
interesting fact:

Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system

Sources:
Must be
properly
formatted

Google Results
Redd, Nola Taylor. "How Big Is Mercury?" Space.com. Space.com, 27 Nov.
2012. Web. 16 May 2016.

Name of
Planet:

Venus

Distance from
Sun:

67.24 million miles

Diameter:

7,520.8 miles

Length of Year:

225 days

Length of Day:

116 days, 18 hours, 0 minutes

Temperature:

864 degrees Fahrenheit

Atmosphere:

Carbon Dioxide Gas, Nitrogen, Water Vapor, Sulfuric Acid

Major features
(rings, moons,
etc)
One more
interesting fact:

Lava has been found on Venus

Sources:
Must be
properly
formatted

"The Surface Features of Venus." T

he Surface Features of Venus. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 17 May 2016.
Wikipedia. "Venus." Venus. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. 17 May 2016.

Name of
Planet:

Earth

Distance from
Sun:

92.96 million miles

Diameter:

7,917.5 miles

Length of Year:

365 days

Length of Day:

24 hours

Temperature:

60 degrees fahrenheit

Atmosphere:

Nitrogen, Oxygen

Major features
(rings, moons,
etc)

La Lune (The Moon)

One more
interesting fact:

97% of the Earth is water

Sources:
Must be
properly
formatted

Sharp, Tim. "What Is the Temperature on Earth?" Space.com. Space.com,

28 Sept. 2012. Web. 18 May 2016.
"Earth's Atmosphere." Windows to the Universe. National Earth Science
Teachers Association, n.d. Web. 18 May 2016.

Name of
Planet:

Mars

Distance from
Sun:

141.6 million miles

Diameter:

4,212 miles

Length of Year:

687 days

Length of Day:

1 day, 0 hours, 40 minutes

Temperature:

67 degrees fahrenheit

Atmosphere:

Carbon Dioxide, Nitrogen, Argon, Oxygen, Water Vapor

Major features
(rings, moons,
etc)

Phobos, Deimos

One more
interesting fact:

Mars will one day have a ring

Sources:
Must be
properly
formatted

"Mars." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 18 May 2016.

"Mars Facts - Interesting Facts about Planet Mars." Space Facts RSS.
Space Facts, 05 Jan. 2012. Web. 19 May 2016.

Name of
Planet:

Jupiter

Distance from
Sun:

483.8 million

Diameter:

86,881.4 miles

Length of Year:

12 years

Length of Day:

0 days, 9 hours, 56 minutes

Temperature:

-234 degrees fahrenheit

Atmosphere:

Hydrogen, Helium, Ammonia, Sulfur, Methane, Water Vapor

Major features
(rings, moons,
etc)

3 Rings, 62 Moons
Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Amalthea, Himalia, Elara, Pasiphae,
Sinope, Lysithea, Carme, Ananke, Leda, Thebe, Adrastea, Metis,
Callirrhoe, Themisto, Megaclite, Taygete, Chaldene, Harpalyke, Kalyke,
Iocaste, Erinome, Isonoe, Praxidike, Autonoe, Thyone, Hermippe, Aitne,
Eurydome, Euanthe, Euporie, Orthosie, Sponde, Kale, Pasithee,
Hegemone, Mneme, Aoede, Thelxinoe, Arche, Kallichore, Helike, Carpo,
Eukelade, Cyllene, Kore, Herse, & more.

One more
interesting fact:

Jupiter has a giant spinning storm known as the Great Red Spot

Sources:
Must be
properly
formatted

"Jupiter." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 19 May 2016.

Redd, Nola Taylor. "What Is the Temperature of Jupiter?" S
pace.com.
Space.com, 7 Nov. 2012. Web. 19 May 2016.
Redd, Nola Taylor. "Jupiter's Atmosphere: Composition & the Great Red
Spot." Space.com. Space.com, 7 Nov. 2012. Web. 19 May 2016.
Dunbar, Brian. "What Is Jupiter?" N
ASA. NASA, n.d. Web. 19 May 2016.
Dunford, Bill. "Jupiter - Moons | Planets - NASA Solar System
Exploration."NASA Solar System Exploration. NASA, n.d. Web. 19 May
2016.

Name of
Planet:

Saturn

Distance from
Sun:

888.2 Million Miles

Diameter:

72,367.4 Miles

Length of Year:

29 Years

Length of Day:

0 Days, 10 Hours, 42 Minutes

Temperature:

-212.8 Degrees Fahrenheit

Atmosphere:

Molecular Hydrogen, Helium

Major features
(rings, moons,
etc)

53 Moons, Saturn has four main groups of rings and three fainter,
narrower ring groups.

One more
interesting fact:

In reference to Saturns Rings - These seven ring groups are made up of

thousands of smaller rings.

Sources:
Must be
properly
formatted

"Saturn." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 23 May 2016.

"Saturn - Moons." NASA Solar System Exploration. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May
2016.
"Ask an Astronomer." Cool Cosmos. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2016.

Name of
Planet:

Uranus

Distance from
Sun:

1.787 Billion Miles

Diameter:

31,518 Miles

Length of Year:

84 Years

Length of Day:

0 Days, 17 Hours, 14 Minutes

Temperature:

-323 Degrees Fahrenheit

Atmosphere:

Molecular Hydrogen, Helium

Major features
(rings, moons,
etc)

13 Rings, 27 Moons

One more
interesting fact:

Uranus hits the coldest temperature out of all the planets in the solar
system

Sources:
Must be
properly
formatted

"Uranus." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 23 May 2016.

"Uranus Facts - Interesting Facts about Planet Uranus." Space Facts RSS.
N.p., 02 Jan. 2012. Web. 23 May 2016.

Name of
Planet:

Neptune

Distance from
Sun:

2.795 Billion Miles

Diameter:

30, 599 Miles

Length of Year:

165 Years

Length of Day:

0 Days, 16 Hours, 6 Minutes

Temperature:

-329.8 Degrees Fahrenheit

Atmosphere:

Hydrogen, Helium

Major features
(rings, moons,
etc)

3 Rings, 14 Moons

One more
interesting fact:

Only one spacecraft has flown past Neptune

Sources:
Must be
properly
formatted

"Neptune." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 23 May 2016.

"Neptune Facts - Interesting Facts about Planet Neptune." S
pace Facts
RSS. N.p., 01 Jan. 2012. Web. 23 May 2016.