a closer look at the planets Flashcards
mercury’s view from earth
Mercury is very close to the sun, so it is rarely visible in the night
Sky
does mercury have an atmosphere?
no
mercury temp range
427°C/-173 (extremely high, no constant temp)
mercury surface features
many craters on the surface caused by collisions with chinks of rock or meotorites
mercurys space probe visits
mariner 10, messenger, BepiColombo
mercury unique details
it orbits the sun at 50km/s, which is faster than any other planet
venus’s nickname
“the morning star.” This is bc its rlly bright and looks like a star
venus’s view from earth
Like mercury, it can be seen from earth when it passes in front of the sun. Transits occur in pairs, 81 years apart
venus’s atosphere
-mostly carbon dioxyde.
-really thick
venus’s temperature
averages 452°C
venus’s surface features
the harsh environment makes exploration of this planet difficult. However scientists used meggellan to see venus’s many impact craters
venus’s space probe visits
Ten venera probes (uncrewed) achieved a sof tlanding on the surface, however one of them returned
Venus’s unique details
Venus is the brightest object we can see in the sky bc its rly close and iths thick atmosphere reflects light
Earth’s atmosphere
Earths unique atmosphere contains mostly nitrogen, oxygen, and water vapour. It also contains a small amount of ozone. The atmosphere is also responsible for moderating temperature from day to night
how much percent of earth is water
70% water
earths temp range
-88°C to 58°C depending on where you are and what time of year it is
mars’s nickname
“red planet” because of its reddish oil
mars’s view from earth
when mars and earth are close tgt, mars appears very bright in our sky, howeverm this only happens once or twice every 15 or 17 years.
mars’s atmosphere
dry and barren planet. Atmosphere is made up of mostly carbon dioxyde, argon, nitrogenm and also small amounts of oxygen and water vapour
mars’s temp range
-90°C to -5°C
mars’s surface features
-Giant dust storms periodically enguld mars, changing its wind-swept landscape
-volcanoes, canyons, dust storms, channels, and impact craters
mars’s space & lander visits
“mars odyssey” which discovered a large quantity of ice only 1m below the surface
unique details
scientists believe that life may have existed there. Bc there is evidence to suggest that mars once had volcanoes, glaciersm and floods of water
gas giants atmosphere
they consist of hydrogen and helium gases, so these planets have low densities
gas giant stratification
metallic hydrogen, liquid hydrogen, and gaseuous hydrogen (inner to outer)
Jupiters view from earth
-easily visible
-you can also see 4 of jupiters moons with a binocular (Galilean moons) discovered by Galileo
Jupiters atmosphere
It resembles the atmosphere of the sun> immesne pressure and high temperatures cause hydrogen gas to become a liquid metal and give rise to electric currents making jupiters magnetic fiels 20 000 times stronger than earth
jupiters temp
avg temp of -148°C
jupiters surface features
Jupiter does not have a true surface. It;s mostly swirling gases
length of day
9h 56m
space probe visits
9 visits
moons of jupiter
60, 4 can be seend from earth with binoculars (Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto
Unique features of jupiter
water is known to exist deep within jupiters atmosphere and can be seend thru the gaps in the storm clouds: biggest planet in out solar system
-colored bands and the great red spot
saturns view from earth
easily visible by the naked eye
saturns atmosphere
cloudy, windy due to its high speed of rotation. Saturn is colder than jupiter
temperature of saturn
-178°C on avg
saturns lenght of day
7hrs 42 mins
space probe visits of saturn
images sent by voyager and cassini showing that saturn has nearly one dozen rings
moons of saturn
50 moons. Titan is bigger than mercury
saturns’s unique features
-magnetic field 500 times stornger than earth
-rings
uranus’s view from earth
able to see with optical aid
uranus’s atmosphere
mainly hydrogen with traces of helium and methane
uranus’s temperature
avg -216°C
surface features of uranus
no solid surface
uranus’s length of day
17hrs 14m
uranus’s space probe visits
voyager 2
uranus’s unique features
faint rings, weak irregular magnetic field. spins on side, rotates opposite direction from earth
neptune vandals view from earth
barely seen even with powerful telescopes
neptune vandals atmosphere
mostly hydrogen and helium
neptune vandals temp
avg temp of -214°C
surface features of neptune vandal
no solid surface
neptune vandals lenght of day
16hrs 6m
space probe visits of neptune vandal
voyager 2
moons of neptune vandal
13 moons. Largest moon with backward motion
unique features of neptune vandal
-weak irregular magnetic field
-has a bright blue and white clouds and adark region, called the Great Dark spot
plutos view from earth
-you can see it but you’ll need a large aperture telescope
-rly faint
temp of pluto
-233 to -223 Celsius
plutos atmosphere
mainly consists of molecular nitrogen, though molecules of methane and carbon monoxide
plutos surface features
mountains, valleys, plains, and craters
plutos length of day
153 hrs
plutos moons
5- charon, hydra, styx,nix, and kerberos
unique features of pluto
-first planet classified as a dwarf planet
-many tall mountains ranging up to 6.5k-9.8k feet
