Anyone with an interest in astronomy and planets need look no farther than our own solar system to find some of the most interesting places in the universe. If you are eager to learn astronomy online, then info on the planets of our own solar system is a fantastic place to start. Not only are the eight planets (and Pluto) easy to spot in the night sky, but they provide a great viewing and educational experience.
Let’s start with the Sun and move out from the center to discover some interesting facts on the planets and info on the planets that perhaps you didn’t know.
Info On The Planets – The Sun
Interesting Sun Facts #1: The Sun contains more than 99.8% of all the mass in our solar system.
Interesting Sun Facts #2: The Greeks called the Sun “Helios” and the Romans called it “Sol”.
Interesting Sun Facts #3: The Sun’s core is 150 times more dense than water.
Interesting Sun Facts #4: The Sun is 4.5 billion years old.
Info on the Planets – Mercury
Interesting Mercury Facts #1: Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun.
Interesting Mercury Facts #2: The romans called Mercury the god of commerce probably because it is one of the fastest moving objects in the sky.
Interesting Mercury Facts #3: Mercury has no moons or satellites.
Interesting Mercury Fact #4: Mercury’s temperature ranged from 70K to 400K
Info on the Planets – Venus
Interesting Venus Facts #1: Venus represents the Greek goddess of love and beauty. They refer to her as Aphrodite.
Interesting Venus Facts #2: Venus is the third brightest object in the sky behind the Sun and the Moon.
Interesting Venus Facts #3: A day on Venus is equal to 243 days on Earth.
Interesting Venus Facts #4: Venus is called Earth’s sister planet.
Info on the Planets – Earth
Interesting Earth Facts #1: Until the 16th century, most people believed that the Earth was the center of the solar system.
Interesting Earth Facts #2: Earth is the densest planet in the solar system.
Interesting Earth Facts #3: 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water.
Interesting Earth Facts #4: Earth was once thought to be the center of the universe.
Info on the Planets – Mars
Interesting Mars Facts #1: The Greeks called Mars by the name Ares and considered it the god of war.
Interesting Mars Facts #2: In 2004 the Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity landed on Mars and until recently were still sending us back data and pictures.
Interesting Mars Facts #3: Mars is visible to the unaided eye when in the night sky.
Interesting Mars Facts #4: Mars is referred to as the red planet.
Interesting facts on the planets are too numerous to ever place in one article. Interesting Earth facts are by far the easiest to find because we all live here and have our own. Interesting Venus facts are the most difficult to find. Venus doesn’t have the sex appeal of many interesting Mars facts or Mercury’s advantage of being the first planet, though interesting Mercury facts are also challenging to come by. For more info on the planets browse the menus here or use Google to look up terms that you are interested in.
We highly recommend 3D Astronomer as a way to explore the solar system from the comfort of your favourite chair.
