Planetary Physics
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Planetary Physics
A planet is a celestial body that revolves around a central star and does not
shine by its own light " (Grolier, 1992). The only planetary system that is
known to man is our solar system. It is made up of nine planets which range in
size and make-up. The nine major planets in our solar system are Mercury, Venus,
Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. There are also many
other minor planets which are also in our solar system, but they are unimportant
compared to the nine major planets. In this paper I will discuss the planets and
how they are each unique. Mercury which is the planet that is closest to the sun
is the first planet I will discuss. Mercury is the smallest of the inner
planets. It is speculated that the heat from the sun made it impossible for the
gases present to become part of the planetary formation. The surface of Mercury
is extremely hot. It is approximately 470 degrees celsius on the surface and is
thought to be even hotter at the two " hot spots." These " hot
spots " are on opposite ends of the equator. It is the heat of the surface
that makes it impossible for Mercury to have any type of atmosphere. Mercury
orbits the sun once every 88 days and has a true rotation period of 58.6 days.
" It is the closest planet to the sun and therefore orbits faster than any
other planet " (Thompson/Turk, 542, 1993). It is said that Mercury rotates
three times for every two trips around the sun, so that during Planets 3 every
alternate perihelon passage the same face points directly at the sun. "
Geologically, the most remarkable features of Mercury are compressional cliffs
or faults, just the sort of wrinkles that might form in the crust if the
interior of the planet shrank slightly " (Morrison, 74, 1993). It is
speculated that it was the solidification of Mercury's metallic core that caused
this global shrinkage. Mercury is also " . . . enriched in metal or
depleted of rock " (Morrison, 74, 1993). It is also believed that some of
the inner core of Mercury is still in a fluid state. Scientists also believe
that Mercury's surface is made partially of silicate rock. The best way to
describe Mercury is, " . . . small, heavily cratered and airless "
(Morrison, 71, 1993). Venus is the second closest planet to the sun and is said
to " . . . most closely resemble Earth in size, density, and distance from
the sun " (Thompson/Turk, 542, 1993). Venus is known to most scientists as
the sister planet to the Earth. It is called ...
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