INNER PLANETS:

Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are called inner planets as they are near to the Sun.

MERCURY:
Mercury is the first planet from the Sun and is similar in appearance to the Moon it is heavily cratered with regions of smooth plains, has no natural satellite and no substantial atmosphere. Surface temperatures range from about 183 C to 427 C, 297 F to 801 F with the subsolar point being the hottest and the bottoms of craters near the poles being the coldest. It has the smallest axial tilt. Mercury is bright when viewed from Earth, but is not easily seen, it can only be viewed in morning or evening twilight. Comparatively little is known about Mercury; ground-based telescopes reveal only an illuminated crescent with limited detail. The first of two spacecraft to visit the planet was Mariner 10, which mapped only about 45% of the planets surface from 1974 to 1975. The second is the MESSENGER spacecraft, which mapped another 30% during its flyby of January 14, 2008. MESSENGER will make one more pass by Mercury in 2009, followed by orbital insertion in 2011, and will then survey and map the entire planet.

VENUS:
Venus is the second-closest planet to the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love. It is the brightest natural object in the night sky, except for the Moon, it never appears to venture far from the Sun. Venus reaches its maximum brightness

shortly before sunrise or shortly after sunset, for which reason it is often called the Morning Star or the Evening Star. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister planet," because they are similar in size, gravity, and bulk composition. Venus is covered with an opaque layer of highly reflective clouds of sulfuric acid, preventing its surface from being seen from space in visible light. Venus has the densest atmosphere of all the terrestrial planets, consisting mostly of carbon dioxide. It has become so hot that the earth-like oceans that the young Venus is believed to have possessed to have totally evaporated, leaving a dusty dry desertscape with many slablike rocks. The atmospheric pressure at the planet's surface is 92 times that of the Earth. Venus's surface has been mapped in detail only in the last 22 years, by Project Magellan. It shows evidence of extensive volcanism, and the sulfur in the atmosphere is taken by some experts to show that there has been some recent volcanism.

EARTH:
Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar system in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Terra Home to millions of species including humans, Earth is the only place in the universe where life is known to exist. The planet formed 4.54 billion years ago and life appeared on its surface within a billion years. Since then, Earth's biosphere has significantly altered the atmosphere and other abiotic conditions on the planet, enabling the proliferation of aerobic organisms as well as the formation of the ozone layer which, together with Earths magnetic field blocks harmful radiation, permitting life on land. The physical properties of the Earth, as well as its geological history and orbit, allowed life to persist during this period. The world is expected to continue supporting life for another 1.5 billion years, after which the rising luminosity of the Sun will eliminate the biosphere

About 71% of the surface is covered with salt-water oceans, the remainder consisting of continents and islands; liquid water, necessary for all known life, is not known to exist on any other planet's surface. Earth's interior remains active, with a thick layer of relatively solid mantle, a liquid outer core that generates a magnetic field, and a solid iron inner core. Earth interacts with other objects in outer space, including the Sun and the Moon. At present, Earth orbits the Sun once for every roughly 366.26 times it rotates about its axis. This length of time is a sidereal year, which is equal to 365.26 solar days. The Earth's axis of rotation is tilted 23.4 away from the perpendicular to its orbital plane, producing seasonal variations on the planet's surface with a period of one tropical year (365.24 solar days). Earth's only known natural satellite, the Moon, which began orbiting it about 4.53 billion years ago, provides ocean tides, stabilizes the axial tilt and gradually slows the planet's rotation. Both the mineral resources of the planet, as well as the products of the biosphere, contribute resources that are used to support a global human population.

MARS:
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar system. The planet is named after Mars, the Roman god of war. It is also referred to as the "Red Planet" because of its reddish appearance, due to iron oxide prevalent on its surface. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, having surface features like both of the impact craters of the Moon and the volcanoes, valleys deserts and polar ice cap of Earth. In addition to its geographical features, Mars rotational periods and seasonal cycles are likewise similar to those of Earth. Until the first flyby of Mars by Mariner 4 in 1965, many speculated that there might be liquid water on the planet's surface. Still, of all the planets in the Solar System other than Earth, Mars is the most likely to harbor liquid water, and perhaps life Radar data from Mars Express and the Mars

Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed the presence of large quantities of water ice both at the poles and at mid-latitudes. The Phoenix Mars Lander directly sampled water ice in shallow Martian soil on July 31, 2008.[ The Phoenix Lander recently completed its mission on the surface. Geological evidence gathered by these and preceding missions suggests that Mars previously had large-scale water coverage. Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are small and irregularly shaped. These may be captured asteroids. Mars can be seen from Earth with the naked eye. A brightness surpassed only by Venus, the Moon, and the Sun, though most of the time Jupiter will appear brighter to the naked eye than Mars.

OUTER PLANETS:

JUPITER:
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar system. It is two and a half times as massive as all of the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant, along with Saturn Uranus, and Neptune. The planet was known by astronomers of ancient times and was associated with the mythology and religious beliefs of many cultures. The Romans named the planet after the Roman god Jupiter. When viewed from Earth it is the third brightest object in the night sky after the Moon and Venus. The planet Jupiter is primarily composed of hydrogen with a small proportion of helium; it may also have a rocky core of heavier elements under high pressure. Because of its rapid rotation, Jupiter's shape is that of an oblate spheroid (it possesses a slight but noticeable bulge around the equator). The outer atmosphere is visibly segregated into several bands at different latitudes, resulting in turbulence and storms along their interacting boundaries. The prominent Great Red Spot is a giant storm that is known to

have existed since at least the 17th century. Surrounding the planet is a faint planetary ring system and a powerful magnetosphere. There are also at least 63 moons, including the four large moons called the Galilean moons that were first discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610. Ganymede, the largest of these moons, has a diameter greater than that of the planet Mercury. Jupiter has been explored on several occasions by robotic spacecraft, most notably during the early Pioneer and Voyager flyby missions and later by the Galileo orbiter. The latest probe to visit Jupiter was the Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft in late February 2007.

SATURN:
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn, along with Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune, is classified as a gas giant. Together, these four planets are sometimes referred to as the Jovian, meaning "Jupiter-like", planets. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturnus (that became the namesake of Saturday). The planet Saturn is composed of hydrogen, with small proportions of helium and trace elements. The interior consists of a small core of rock and ice, surrounded by a thick layer of metallic hydrogen and a gaseous outer layer. Wind speeds on Saturn can reach 1,800 km/h Saturn has a prominent system of rings, consisting mostly of ice particles with a smaller amount of rocky debris and dust. Sixty-one known moons orbit the planet, not counting hundreds of "moonlets" within the rings. Titan, Saturn's largest and the Solar System's second largest moon (after Jupiter's Ganymede), is larger than the planet Mercury and is the only moon in the Solar System to possess a significant atmosphere.

URANUS:
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and the third-largest and fourth most massive planet in the Solar System. It is named after the ancient Greek deity of the sky Uranus. Though it is visible to the naked eye like the five classical planets, they are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, the five planets closest to Earth. It was never recognized as a planet by ancient observers because of its dimness and slow orbit. Sir William Herschel announced its discovery on March 13, 1781, expanding the known boundaries of the solar system for the first time in modern history. This was also the first discovery of a planet made using a telescope. Uranus's atmosphere, while similar to Jupiter's and Saturn's in being composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, contains a higher proportion of "ices" such as water, ammonia and methane, along with the usual traces of hydrocarbons. It is the coldest planetary atmosphere in the Solar System. The interior of Uranus is mainly composed of ices and rocks. Uranus has a ring system, a magnetosphere, and numerous moons. The wind speeds on Uranus can reach 250 meters per second (900 km/h, 560 mph).[ In the English language, Uranus is the only planet in the Solar System to be named after a Greek god, the others, other than Earth, being named after Roman gods.

NEPTUNE:
Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. Named for the Roman god of the sea, it is the fourth-largest planet by diameter and the third-largest by mass. Neptune is 17 times the mass of Earth and is slightly more massive than its near-twin Uranus. Discovered on September 23, 1846, Neptune was the first planet found by mathematical prediction. Neptune has been visited by only one spacecraft, Voyager 2, which flew by the planet on August 25, 1989.

Neptune's atmosphere is composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, along with traces of hydrocarbons and possibly nitrogen, contains a higher proportion of "ices" such as water, ammonia and methane. Astronomers sometimes categorize Uranus and Neptune as "ice giants". The interior of Neptune, like that of Uranus, is primarily composed of ices and rock.[ Traces of methane in the outermost regions in part account for the planet's blue appearance. Neptune's atmosphere is notable for its active and visible weather patterns. Because of its great distance from the Sun, Neptune's outer atmosphere is one of the coldest places in the Solar System, with temperatures at its cloud tops approaching 218 C. Neptune has a faint and fragmented ring system, which may have been detected during the 1960s but was only indisputably confirmed in 1982 by Voyager 2.

ASTEROIDS:
Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets or planetoids, are small Solar System bodies that orbit around the Sun; they are smaller than planets but larger than meteoroids. The term "asteroid" has historically been applied primarily to bodies in the inner Solar System since the outer Solar System was poorly known when it came into common usage. The distinction between asteroids and comets is made on visual appearance: Comets show a perceptible coma while asteroids do not.

COMET:
A comet is a Small Solar System Body that orbits the Sun and, when close enough to the Sun, exhibits a visible coma (atmosphere) or a tailboth primarily from the effects of solar radiation upon the comet's nucleus. Comet nuclei are themselves loose collections of ice, dust and small rocky particles, measuring a few kilometres or tens of kilometres across.

Comets have a variety of different orbital periods, ranging from a few years, to hundreds of thousands of years, while some are believed to pass through the inner Solar System only once before being thrown out into interstellar space. Comets are distinguished from asteroids by the presence of a coma or tail, though very old comets that have lost all their volatile materials may come to resemble asteroids. Asteroids are also believed to have a different origin from comets, having formed in the inner Solar System rather than the outer Solar System.[ Recent findings have, however, somewhat blurred the distinction between asteroids and comets.. Comets leave a trail of debris behind them. If the comet's path crosses Earth's path, then at that point may be meteor showers as the Earth passes through the trail of debris. The Perseid meteor shower occurs every year between August 9 and 13 when the Earth passes through the orbit of the comet Swift-Tuttle. Halley's comet is the source of the Orionid shower in October. The reservoir of comet-like bodies in the outer solar system may number one trillion. The number of naked-eye comets averages to roughly one per year, though many of these are faint and unspectacular. When a historically bright or notable naked-eye comet is witnessed by many people, it may be termed a Great Comet. The word "comet" came to the English language through Latin cometes from the Greek word kom, meaning "hair of the head"; Aristotle first used the derivation komts to depict comets as "stars with hair." The astronomical symbol for comets () accordingly consists of a disc with a hairlike tail. Of the thousands of known comets in the solar system, Halley's comet is one of some 200 that are periodic. Halley's comet orbits Earth every 76 years; the next flyby will occur in 2061.

METEOROIDS:
A meteoroid is a small sand to boulder sized particle of debris in the Solar System. The visible path of a meteoroid that enters Earth's (or another body's) atmosphere is called a meteor, or commonly a "shooting star" or

"falling star". If a meteor reaches the ground, it is then called a meteorite. Many meteors are part of a meteor shower. The root word meteor comes from the Greek meteros, meaning "high in the air".

METEOR:
A meteor is the visible streak of light that occurs when a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere. Meteors typically occur in the mesosphere (is the layer of the Earth's atmosphere that is directly above the stratosphere and directly below the thermosphere), and most range in altitude from 75 km to 100 km

MOON:
The Moon (Latin: Luna) is Earth's only natural satellite and the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System. The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is 384,403 km, about thirty times the diameter of the Earth. The Moon makes a complete orbit around the Earth every 27.3 days. The Moon's diameter is 3,474 km, a little more than a quarter of that of the Earth. Thus, the Moon's surface area is less than a tenth that of the Earth (about a quarter the Earth's land area, approximately as large as Russia, Canada, and the United States combined), and its volume is about 2 percent that of Earth. The pull of gravity at its surface is about 17 percent of that at the Earth's surface. The Moon is the only celestial body to which humans have traveled and upon which humans have performed a manned landing. The first artificial object to pass near the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 1, the first artificial object to impact the lunar surface was Luna 2. The United States (U.S.) Apollo program achieved the only manned missions to date, resulting in six landings between 1969 and 1972. Human exploration of the Moon ceased with the conclusion of the Apollo program, although a few robotic landers and orbiters have been sent to the Moon since that time. Several countries have announced plans to return humans to the surface of the Moon in the 2020s.

GALAXY:
A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly-understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The name is from the Greek root galaxias meaning "milky," a reference to the Milky Way galaxy. Typical galaxies range from dwarfs with as few as ten million[ (107) stars up to giants with one trillion (1012) stars, all orbiting the galaxy's center of mass. Galaxies can also contain many multiple star systems, star clusters, and various interstellar clouds. The Sun is one of the stars in the Milky Way galaxy; the Solar System includes the Earth and all the other objects that orbit the Sun.

MILKY WAY GALAXY