Universe at a glance

The Sun is a star that is in the center of the Solar System
The Sun is recognized as having the largest mass in our Solar System.
It has a diameter of about 1,392,684 km, about 109 times that of Earth
The sun is the closest star to Earth, at a mean distance from our planet of 149.60 million km
Sun fuses 620 million metric tons of hydrogen each second.
At the core, the temperature is about 27 million degrees Fahrenheit (15 million degrees Celsius)
In February 1974, Skylab was the first manned spacecraft to study the Sun.
Solar flares occur when magnetic fields of the Sun come together and cause huge explosions on the Sun’s surface.
Solar flares produce bursts of electromagnetic radiation, x-rays, ultraviolet radiation, visible light, and radio waves.<

Mercury is the closest and second smallest in the Solar System.
Mercury is the second densest planet after Earth.
The only visit to Mercury was a flyby made by the Mariner 10 spacecraft in 1974.
Mercury speeds around the sun every 88 days, traveling through space at nearly 50 km (31 miles) per second
Galileo first observed Mercury during the 17th century.

Venus is the second closest and sixth largest planet in the Solar System
The orbital speed of Venus is 35 km per second.
Venus is the hottest planet in the Solar System.
Venus appears to be the brightest planet in the sky.
It takes 244.7 days for Venus to rotate on its axis.
The first robotic space probe mission to Venus, and the first to any planet, began on 12 February 1961, with the launch of the Venera 1 probe.

Earth formed approximately 4.54 billion years ago, and life appeared on its surface within one billion years.
The Earth is the densest planet in the Solar System.
Earth is the fifth largest planet in the Solar System.
The Diameter of the Earth is 12,756 km (7,926 miles)
The earth’s orbital speed is 29.8 km per second.
Earth atmosphere consists of 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen and 1 percent other ingredients..
Earth rotates about its own axis 366.26 times, creating 365.26 solar days

The Moon is Earth’s lone natural satellite.
In 1610, Galileo Galilei is the first to use a telescope to make scientific observations of the Moon.
The Moon is the fifth largest satellite in our Solar System.
The Moon’s diameter is 2160 miles (3476 km)
Average distance between the Earth and the Moon is about 239,000 miles. Actual distance varies from 221,457 to 252,712 miles.
The Moon’s gravity is 1/6 that of Earth.
The Moon does not have an atmosphere; there is no wind on the Moon.
Apollo 11 was the American space mission to first reach and land on the moon.
The first human landing on the Moon was on 20 July 1969.
The Moon orbits around the Earth every 29 days.

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second smallest planet in the Solar System.
iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance, often described as “ Red Planet”
A Mars year is equal to 686.98 Earth Days
A day in Mars is equal to 24.6 Earth Hours
Like Earth, Mars experiences seasons because of the tilt of its rotational axis
Asaph Hall discovered both of Mars’ moons, Phobos and Deimos, in August 1877.
Mariner 4 – first successful flyby mission to Mars. Launched on November 28, 1964 and arrived at Mars on July 14, 1965.
Viking 1 – Successful orbit and landing on surface of Mars. Launched August 20, 1975 and arrived at Mars July 20, 1976.

Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, is 318 times larger than Earth.
The orbital speed of Jupiter is 13.1 km/sec
A year on Jupiter is equal to 11.9 Earth Years
Jupiter has 67 natural satellites.[105] Of these, 51 are less than 10 kilometres in diameter and have only been discovered since 1975.
Galileo Galilei had discovered Jupiter's four largest moons, now called Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. These four moons are known today as the Galilean satellites.
In 1610, Galileo Galilei makes the first detailed observations of Jupiter.
Jupiter's moon Ganymede is the biggest satellite in solar system
Jupiter has rings, the third planet discovered to have a ring system in our Solar System.
Jupiter’s rings are identified as: Halo ring, Main ring, Amalthea gossamer ring, and Thebe gossamer ring.
Jupiter’s rings were discovered by Voyager 1 in 1979.

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest.
Saturn has 62 known moons, fifty-three have been named. Most of them are small in size.
Names of some of Saturn’s moons: the largest is Titan, discovered in 1655; Tethys, Dione, Rhea, & Iapetus, discovered from 1671 to 1672; Mimas & Enceladus, discovered in 1789; and Hyperion, discovered in 1848.
A year on Saturn is equal to 29.5 Earth Years
Pioneer 11 is the first spacecraft to reach Saturn, in 1979
Saturn has a prominent ring system that consists of nine continuous main rings and three discontinuous arcs,composed mostly of ice particles with a smaller amount of rocky debris and dust.

The orbital speed of Uranus is 6.6 km/sec
Uranus takes 84 Earth years to complete one orbit.
Uranus is the third largest planet in the Solar System.
Voyager 2, the only spacecraft to visit Uranus,
A day on Uranus is equal to a little more than 17 hours on Earth.
Uranus has 27 known moons, named for characters from the works of William Shakespeare or Alexander Pope
Uranus was discovered by Sir William Herschel in 1781

Neptune

Neptune is the fourth largest planet and coolest planet in the Solar System.
Neptune was the first planet located through mathematical predictions rather than through regular observations of the sky.
Neptune was discovered by Urbain Le Verrier, John Couch Adams, and Johann Galle on September 23, 1846.
The only spacecraft ever to visit Neptune was Voyager 2 in 1989.
The magnetic field of Neptune is about 27 times more powerful than that of Earth.
One Neptune year is equal to 164.83 Earth Years
Neptune has six known rings.
In 2011, Neptune completes its first 165-year orbit of the sun since its discovery in 1846.
Neptune has 13 moons, the largest of which is named Triton.The other moons are : Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea,Larissa, Proteus, Nereid, Halimede, Sao, Laomedeia, Neso, and Psamathe.

Pluto is the smallest planet in the Solar System, now consider as dwarf planet
Pluto is colder than Neptune.
Pluto’s journey around the Sun takes 248 Earth years.
Pluto is the second most contrast body in the Solar System
Pluto has not yet been visited by a spacecraft.
Pluto has a satellite, Charon, which was discovered (in 1978). The distance between them is 19,640 km (12,200 miles).The other 3 are Nix, Hydra, and newly discovered S/2011 P 1 on July of 2011.
Pluto rotation (a Pluto day) takes 6.4 Earth days, meaning that it has the second slowest rotation in the Solar System after Venus
Pluto was discove