A JOURNEY THROUGH

TIME AND SPACE

THE SUN
The Sun, the star that
dominates the solar
system, support all life
on Earth.
Image credit: J AXA/NASA

This image reveals the filamentary
nature of the plasma connecting
regions of different magnetic polarity.
The chromosphere is a thin layer of
solar atmosphre sandwiched between
the visible surface, photosphere and
corona.
Image credit: J AXA/NASA

Photo Credit & Copyright: Ralph
Encarnacion

Age : About 4.5 billion years
Surface Area: 2,347 000 000 000 square miles
Composition : Mostly hydrogen and helium
Surface temperature: About 10,000 degrees F
MERCURY
The closest planet to
the Sun, Mercury has
the shortest orbit; a
mere 88 days
Credit: NASA/J ohns Hopkins University Applied Physics
Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Average Distance from the Sun : 36 million niles
Atmosphere : Carbon dioxide, nitrogen, argon
Surface temperature: -279/801 degrees F (min/max)
Length of day: 58.646 earth days
Credit: NASA/J ohns Hopkins University Applied Physics
Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

VENUS
The second closest planet to the
Sun, Venus is called the morning
star and the evening star.
Average Distance from the Sun : 67,237,910 miles
Atmosphere : Carbon dioxide, nitrogen
Surface temperature: 864 degrees F (average)
Length of day: 117 earth days
Impact craters on the surface of Venus (image
reconstructed from radar data)
Venus is always brighter than the brightest stars
EARTH
The third planet from the Sun,
Earth is the only planet known to
harbor life.
Average Distance from the Sun : 92,955,820 miles
Atmosphere : Nitrogen,oxygen
Surface temperature: -126/136 degrees F (min/max)
Length of day: 24 hours
MARS
Mars is sometimes called the Red
Planet for its red, iron-oxide rich
soil.
Average Distance from the Sun : 141,633,260 miles
Atmosphere : Carbon dioxide, nitrogen, argon
Surface temperature: -125/23 degrees F (min/max)
Length of day: 1.026 Earth days
Rock strewn surface imaged by Mars Pathfinder
Size comparison of Earth and Mars
ASTEROID
Asteroids are rocky fragments
leftover from the birth of the solar
system;most orbit the Sun in a
belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Distance to Sun: The asteroid Phaethon comes closest to the Sun at 13.9 million
miles
Largest known asteroid : Ceres (estimated diameter 590 miles)
Number of asteroids in solar system ; More the 1 million
Total mass of asteroids: Less than the mass of the Moon, 7.3483 10^22 kg
The first asteroid to be imaged in close up
JUPITER
The is the largest planet in the
solar system.
Average Distance from the Sun : 483,682,810 miles
Atmosphere : Hydrogen, helium
Surface temperature: -162 degrees F (average)
Length of day: 0.41354 Earth days
Approximate size comparison of Earth and
Jupiter, including the Great Red Spot
SATURN
Galileo was the first person to
observe Saturn, the ringed planet.
Average Distance from the Sun :885,904,700 miles
Atmosphere : Hydrogen,helium
Surface temperature: -218 degrees F (average)
Length of day: 0.44401 Earth days
Four of Saturn's moons: Dione, Titan, Prometheus
(edge of rings), Telesto (top center)
URANUS
It takes Uranus, the seventh
planet from the Sun, 84 Earth
years to make one orbit.
Average Distance from the Sun :1,783,939,400 miles
Atmosphere : Hydrogen, helium, methane
Surface temperature: -323 degrees F (average)
Length of day: 0.7196 Earth days
This color results from the presence of methane in
Uranus' atmosphere; the gas absorbs red wavelengths of
light, leaving the predominant hue seen here.
Image Credit: NASA/J PL

NEPTUNE
Neptune, the eight planet from the
Sun, is though to be the windiest
in the solar system
Average Distance from the Sun : 2,795,084,800 miles
Atmosphere : Hydrogen, helium, methane
Surface temperature: -303 degrees F (average)
Length of day: 0.67125 Earth days
A size comparison of Neptune and Earth
Bands of high-altitude clouds cast shadows on
Neptune's lower cloud deck
PLUTO
Once considered the solar systems
nith planet. Pluto was
downgraded to dwarf planet in
2006.
Average Distance from the Sun : 3,670,050,000 miles
Atmosphere : A layer of frozen methane, nitrogen and
carbon monoxide temporarily forms a thin atmosphere
when Pluto is close to the Sun.
Surface temperature: -369 degrees F (average)
Length of day: 6.387 Earth days
Pluto and its three known moons
Pluto's volume is about 0.66% that of Earth