The solar system includes eight official planets, from Mercury to Jupiter, that vary in composition, conditions and other aspects. Mercury, our closest planet to the Sun and one of its smallest planets, measures only slightly larger than our moon. Mercury boasts extremely extreme temperatures that range from daytime highs of 800 Fahrenheit (430 Celsius) to…
Mercury may seem distant compared to Venus and Mars, but in terms of size it actually ranks closer. Scientists devised a mathematical formula to find which planet was nearest the earth in size, using data on distance between planets over time and then averaging their values to find which was nearest of all seven planets….
The solar system planets vary significantly in color due to the composition of their surfaces and atmospheres and how these absorb and reflect light. Earth, Venus, Mars and Jupiter each feature unique hues; Uranus and Neptune all share similar attributes as well. Earth Our solar system’s planets take on their colors based on various factors….
The Solar System consists of the Sun and eight planets, plus their moons, along with asteroids and other minor planets. It formed 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of a giant molecular cloud. The process of planetary formation is fairly straightforward. It is likely that the gas and dust in the solar nebula…
In our solar system, the Sun is surrounded by eight planets and more than 210 planetary satellites (moons). Many asteroids and comets also orbit around the Sun. The average distance between the planets is 149 600 000 kilometers, or about one Astronomical Unit. This measurement tells you how far away an object is from the…
Our Solar System is a collection of planets, moons and dwarf planets that orbit the Sun. The planets range in size from the rocky Earth to the gaseous Jupiter. The Solar System also contains a large number of comets, asteroids and other small objects that fall into the system from outer space. Many of these…
Every scrap of matter in our solar system originated as part of a giant interstellar cloud. As it grew hot and dense, gravity began to pull dust and gas inwards. Gravity sculpted this material into the planets, as well as smaller bodies such as asteroids, comets and meteoroids. Some of these objects are still tumbling…
The Solar System is made up of eight planets and a variety of other objects that orbit the Sun. These include rocky planets, gas giants, dwarf planets and asteroids. The entire planetary system moves around the Sun in a prograde motion – one that is in the same direction as the Sun’s rotation. This motion…
Dreaming of Planets in Your Dreams Seeing planets in our dreams can often have a significant meaning. This is because the planets are symbols of different aspects of your personality and when one appears in your dream, it means that this aspect is being emphasized or developed at the moment. For example, if you see…
