The names of the planets of the solar system in their order are:
- Mercury
- Venus
- Earth
- Mars, Mars, Is
- Jupiter
- Saturn the Saturn
- Uranus ,
- Neptune
Note that before 2006, Pluto was considered a planet in the solar system, however, International Astronomical Union (IAU) surveys defined three fundamental concepts for the classification of planets:
- orbit around a star;
- to possess its own gravity;
- to have a free orbit.
Thus, Pluto was considered a dwarf planet because it does not have a free orbit.
Movements of the Planets
Planets are in constant motion in a way that revolves around their own orbit or around the Sun.
Rotation motion designates the motion that the planets perform around their own axis (equivalent at 1 day time).
The translational motion defines the movement that the planets perform around the sun (equivalent to 1 year).
Characteristics of the Solar System Planets
Each planet in the solar system has peculiarities so that they are classified according to their constitution.
In this respect we can highlight two types of planets:
Mercury
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. It is a rocky planet, devoid of satellites and rarefied atmosphere, and is also the smallest planet in the solar system. For this reason it has quite high temperatures of approximately 400oC.
On the other hand, the face of the planet not illuminated by the sun can reach temperatures of approximately -170oC. The rotational motion of the planet is 59 days, while the movement movement is 87 days.
Venus
Known as “Estrela d’alva,” because of its strong glow, Venus just as Mercury is a planet that has no satellite. Visible from our planet, Venus is the second planet from the Sun and the closest to the planet Earth.
Its rotational motion is one of the slowest, with 243 days to complete the lap around itself; and, the movement of translation of about 225 days.
It is worth noting that even though it is the second planet from the Sun (after Mercury), Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system, with temperatures that can reach 480oC. It resembles planet Earth with regard to size, composition, structure, mass, density and gravitational force.
Earth
Third planet of the solar system from the Sun, the planet Earth is rocky, with a gaseous atmosphere and an average temperature of 15oC.
It has a natural satellite, the Moon, and the amount of water on the planet, also called the “blue planet”, combined with the amount of oxygen, allow the development of life on the planet, being the only known of the solar system with human life.
The terrestrial rotation movement lasts approximately 24 hours (time of 1 day); while the movement of translation of the planet lasts 365 days (time of 1 year), except in leap years, which have 366 days.
Mars
A fourth planet from the Sun and the most visible on planet Earth, Mars has two natural satellites “Fobos and Deimos”, being the second smallest planet in the solar system, behind Mercury.
Also called the “red planet,” due to the iron oxide particles present in its atmosphere, the planet Mars is a rocky, cold, dry planet.
The rotational motion of Mars resembles that of Earth, lasting 24 hours and 37 minutes, while the movement of translation of the planet is 687 days.
Jupiter
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. It is a gaseous planet (composed mainly of hydrogen), 1,300 times larger than the planet Earth.
Fifth planet from the Sun, Jupiter has the highest number of satellites, 79 satellites, and has temperatures of up to -150oC.
Its rotational motion lasts 9 hours and 55 minutes, considered the fastest rotational motion of all the planets in the solar system; while the movement of the planet’s translation corresponds to about 12 Earth years.
Saturn
The second largest planet in the solar system, after Jupiter, Saturn is known for its rings, formed by rock, ice and dust.
Sixth planet from the sun, after Jupiter, Saturn is the planet in the solar system that has many satellites: 82 moons.
Composed basically of hydrogen, it has an average temperature of -140oC, and its rotational movement lasts 10 hours and 14 minutes and the translation movement about 30 Earth years.
Uranus
The third largest planet in the solar system and seventh planet from the Sun, Uranus is a gaseous planet with temperature averages of -185oC and has 27 satellites.
It has an interesting feature touching to its axis of rotation with almost ninety degrees in relation to the plane of its orbit, which in turn is very extensive.
Thus, the rotational motion of the planet lasts approximately 17 hours, while the translational movement lasts about 84 Earth years.
Neptune
Planet of the solar system farther from the Sun and the fourth largest in size, Neptune has 14 natural satellites and has average temperatures of approximately -200oC.
It is a gaseous planet, made up mainly of hydrogen, helium, ammonia, methane and water. The rotational motion of the planet lasts about 16 hours, while its translation amounts to 164 Earth years.