Transcript pdf - Principia Space Diary

Photo: ESA
MERCURY
DISTANCE
FROM SUN
38.98 million miles
DAY TEMP.
Up to 800ºC.
NIGHT TEMP.
Down to -290ºC
CHALLENGE
QUESTION
Why is it impossible
for water to exist on
Mercury?
Photo: ESA
SURFACE
Craters and smooth
plains like our moon.
GRAVITY
Only 38% strong
as the Earth’s. This
means you could
jump three times
as high as you do
on Earth!
CHALLENGE
QUESTION
Why is there no
weather system
on Mercury?
VENUS
DISTANCE
FROM SUN
67.24 million miles
SURFACE TEMP.
Up to 480ºC.
SURFACE
Volcanoes, mountains
and craters under
acidic clouds
GRAVITY
91% strong as the
Earth’s. It’s very
similar to Earth!
DAY LENGTH
243 Earth days
equal one day on
Venus
CHALLENGE
QUESTION
How much would
you weigh on Venus?
Photo: ESA
CHALLENGE
QUESTION
What makes Venus
the hottest planet in
our solar system?
EARTH
SURFACE
Mountains, valleys,
oceans, deserts, plains,
forests and polar caps
DISTANCE
FROM SUN
92.96 million miles
CORE
Nickel-iron,
magnetic.
MOONS
Just one! All other
planets have more
than one.
WATER
70% of Earth is
covered in water.
CHALLENGE
QUESTION
How can we protect
our atmosphere?
Photo: NASA
CHALLENGE
QUESTION
How does Earth’s
core protect us
against solar
winds?
MARS
DISTANCE
FROM SUN
141.6 million miles
SURFACE
Mountains, canyons,
deserts and polar caps
GRAVITY
Only 38% strong
as the Earth’s.
Which planet has
the same gravity
as Mars?
YEAR LENGTH
687 Earth days
WATER
Ice has been found
under Mars’s polar
caps.
CHALLENGE
QUESTION
How many seasons
does Mars have?
Why?
Photo: NASA
CHALLENGE
QUESTION
How high is Olympus
Mons, the biggest
mountain in our solar
system?
JUPITER
DISTANCE
FROM SUN
483.8 million miles
SURFACE
No solid surface, it’s a
giant ball of gas.
YEAR LENGTH
12 Earth years.
ATMOSPHERE
A unique cloud layer
gives Jupiter its
strange marbled
appearance.
Photo: ESA
GRAVITY
2.4 times stronger
than Earth’s.
CHALLENGE
QUESTION
What are Jupiter’s
cloud layers made
from?
CHALLENGE
QUESTION
What is the Giant Red
Spot and what is
happening to it?
SATURN
DISTANCE
FROM SUN
888.2 million miles
SURFACE
Ball of helium
and hydrogen
DAY
LENGTH
10.7 Earth
hours
ATMOSPHERE
Made from
ammonia, giving
Saturn its yellow
appearance
Photo: ESA
RINGS
7 rings, each
rotating around
Saturn
CHALLENGE
QUESTION
Which of Saturn’s
moons might have
life on it?
CHALLENGE
QUESTION
What about Saturn’s
rings allows us to
see them with a
telescope?
URANUS
DISTANCE
FROM SUN
1.784 billion miles
SURFACE
Ice giant with a
rock and iron core
DAY
LENGTH
17.24 Earth
hours
SEASONS
Two seasons, each
lasting 42 Earth
years
Photo: NASA
RINGS
13 faint rings,
which are
perpendicular to
the sun
CHALLENGE
QUESTION
What is special
about Uranus’s orbit
around the Sun?
CHALLENGE
QUESTION
What gives Uranus
its pale blue colour?
NEPTUNE
DISTANCE
FROM SUN
2.795 billion miles
YEAR
LENGTH
165 Earth
years
WINDY
Supersonic winds
are 9 times stronger
than winds on Earth.
Photo: NASA
SURFACE
Ice giant made from
water, ammonia and
methane
hydrogen
CHALLENGE
QUESTION
How long was
Neptune’s longest
storm on record?
RINGS
6 faint rings
made from dust
and debris
CHALLENGE
QUESTION
When was Neptune
discovered and why
did it take so long?