Saturn
Saturn is the 6th planet from the sun. (It's my favorite planet out of the 8 planets.) It is a Gas Giant like Jupiter. Saturn has a yellow color because it has ammonia crystals, molecules with nitrogen and hydrogen that are freezed up which becomes solid. Saturn is made up of gas and does not have a solid surface. It's gases are deadly and can poison any one (if anyone ever visits Saturn) if they intake a breathe of the air. Saturn is about 1.433 km. away from the sun. It has 53 known satellites and has 7 rings. Saturn only needs about 29 Earth days to complete an orbit around the sun. Because it spins crazily fast, it is shaped like an oval or like a ball that is being squashed between two objects. Even though Saturn is the second largest planet in our solar system, it has a density, mass over volume, that is less than water. Saturn is 95 times the mass of Earth, but it has a bigger volume than it's mass. Maybe Saturn can float if placed on water. Saturn's wind is tremendously fast and can reach about 1,800 km./s. Astronomers predict that Saturn's core is made of iron, nickel, and rock. Saturn has about a 45 degree tilt on its axis.
I have no idea why I like Saturn the most. I think maybe it's because of it's rings? No idea. My second favorite planet is Jupiter, but I don't know why I like it either.
The Asteroid Belt and Jupiter
The asteroid belt is like a belt of asteroids... It's literally like that. It's placement in the solar system is after Mars and before Jupiter. It's the division line from terrestrial planets to the extraterrestrial planets. Astronomers had a theory that there was a ninth planet that wanted to form in between Mars and Jupiter. Because of Jupiter's strong gravitational pull, it couldn't form and it shattered. The bits of cosmic dust from the ninth planet formed into asteroids, rocky and irregularly shaped objects. Astronomers think that this event happened 4.6 billion years ago.
Jupiter is the fifth planet from our sun and it's an extraterrestrial planet. (It's also a Jovian which also means that Jupiter is an outer planet.) Jupiter is a gas giant meaning that it's surface and/or insides are made out of gases. This planets gases contains of mostly hydrogen. Because of Jupiter's rapid spinning, its surface contains a ton of hurricanes and storms. The Great Red Spot is a huge storm on Jupiter. This planet has a thin ring that has a magnetic field. Jupiter has 67 moons. Galileo discovered four of the largest moons of Jupiter with his invention, the telescope. They were named Galilean moons. Ganymede was the largest of the four moons and its diameter is even bigger than Mercury. Jupiter is 778,500,000 km away from the sun.
Earth and Mars
Earth,our home, is the third planet from our sun. It is the only planet in our solar system that can sustain life. Because of where Earth is placed in the solar system, it has a temperature where organisms can live and flourish in. Earth is about 150,000,000 kilometers away from the sun. Earth was formed about 4 and a half billion years ago. This planet is made up of layers. The inner layer is called the core. The next layer is called the mantle. Then there's the crust and finally a layer called the lithosphere, which is a thin piece of Earth. The lithosphere is divided up into tectonic plates which moves. The moving motion causes earthquakes. (The lithosphere is usually located at the bottom of the oceans.) Earth has only one satellite and it's known as the moon. (duh.) Earth takes about 365 days in order to complete a whole rotation around the sun. This planet is the largest terrestrial planet.
Mars, also known as the Red Planet, is the fourth planet from the sun. It's called the Red Planet because of all the iron elements on the surface of the planet which gives it a red color. Mars has a thin atmosphere causing it to have a lot of craters, holes, on its surface. This planet has two, irregularly shaped moons: Deimos and Phobos. Mars' rotation and tilt around the sun is similar to Earth's which means that Mars have seasons almost the same as our planet. The Red Planet is the second to smallest planet on our solar system. (Smallest planet is Mercury. Go check out my other post about it!) Mars have almost the same insides as of Earth; The both have a core and a mantle. It's distance from the sun is about 228,000,000 km. away. Mars is home to the second largest mountain and it has some of the largest canyons in our solar system. Mars was named after the Roman god of war. (Greek god of war name: Ares.)
