This document provides information about planets, stars, and constellations. It discusses the key facts about each planet from Mercury to Neptune. It also describes different types of stars like black dwarfs, main sequence stars, red giants, and supergiants. Additionally, it summarizes some of the main constellations like Orion, Sagittarius, and Scorpius. The document aims to educate the reader about basic astronomy through concise summaries of planets, stars, and patterns in the night sky.

1. By: Brianne Diephuis
Ed.205 Winter 2008

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•Planets
•Stars
•Constellations
•About the author

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•Mercury
•Venus
•Earth
•Mars
•Jupiter Click Here
•Saturn to Watch a
Video
•Uranus about the
Planets.
•Neptune

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•Fastest and shortest orbit out of
all the planets. Takes 88 days to
orbit the sun
•Mercury has the widest
temperature range
•Temperature: 90-700K
•Diameter: 4,880 km
•Closest planet to the sun
•Oldest surface- three major
surfaces
•Smooth plains
•Intercrater plains
•Rugged highlands
•Mercury has the densest core
•Mercury is the hottest planet that
also has ice caps
•Has a double sunrise
•Mercury is very similar to the
Earth Moon
•Mercury is a terrestrial planet
•Mercury has a weak atmosphere
containing hydrogen, oxygen,
calcium, and potassium.

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•Second planet from the Sun
•Venus’s orbit around the sun is
closest to a perfect circle
•Only planet that the rotational
period is longer than the
revolutionary period (a day on
Venus is longer than a year!)
•Venus had more volcanoes
than any other planet
•Only planet that does not have
a magnetic field
•Hottest surface temperature
out of any of the planets
•Roughly 900 degrees
•Venus reflects the most light
of any other planet
•Venus is the only planet that
rotates slowly on its axis
clockwise (opposite of all other
planets)
•Diameter: 12,103.6 km

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•Third planet from the Sun
•Earth is the only planet that
contains life
•Has the greatest surface
percentage of water- wettest
planet
•Has the most diverse weather
patterns
•Earth had the youngest
surface out of all the planets
•Densest planet
•Has the most active plate
tectonics
•Earth is the only planet that
has the existence of the water
cycle
•Has only one moon
•Diameter: 12,756.3 km
•Earth is divided into several
layers

7. mars
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•Mars is the fourth planet from
the sun
•Mars is the reddest planet
•Mars is the rustiest planet
•It had the largest known floods
in the solar system
•Mars is the only planet that
snows carbon dioxide
•Hellan Planitia is the largest
impact crater, no other planet
has a crater as large
•Mars has the largest volcano-
Olympus Mons
•Olympus Mons is the only
geological feature that
protrudes from any planets
atmosphere
•Mars has sandstorms that
encompass the entire planet
•Diameter 6,794 km

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•Jupiter is the fifth planet from
the Sun
•Jupiter is the largest planet in
the whole solar system
•Diameter: 142,984 km
•Jupiter has the strongest
gravitational pull and magnetic
field
•Jupiter has the quickest
rotation axis
•Jupiter has a great red spot,
which is actually a storm. The
storm is large enough to hold
three Earths!
•Jupiter has the most moons
•Some of the moons are:
•Ganymede is the largest
•Europa is the smoothest
•Io is the most volcanically
active

9. saturn
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•Saturn is the sixth planet from
the Sun
•Saturn has the most complex
ring system
•Second largest jovian (gas)
planet composed of 75%
hydrogen and 25% helium
•Lowest density of any planet
•Saturn’s moon Titian has the
thickest atmosphere of any
moon
•Saturn’s moons have the
largest variety of sizes
•Saturn’s rings are the only
rings that contain spokes
•The rings are made up of
mostly water and ice, but
contain some dust and rocks
•Diameter: 120,536 km

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Uranus…
•Is the seventh planet from the
Sun
•Has the most unusual seasons
•Is the only planet that can have
direct sunlight on both poles
•Is only planet that rotates on
its side
•Also has rings, they are the
most well defined
•Has the strongest magnetic
fields
•Has only one moon, Miranda
which was destroyed and then
reconstructed
•Diameter: 51,118 km

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Neptune…
•Is the eighth planet from the Sun
•Has the fastest winds reaching
700-1500 mph
•Is the smallest of the 4 gas planets
•Is the bluest planet, and gets its
color from methane
•Has rings but they are not
complete, they are only faint arcs
that are made from dust
•Has a storm system called
“Scooter” and it is the fastest
moving system in the whole solar
system
•Is the densest of the gas planets
•Has clouds that protrude from its
atmosphere
•Has a moon Triton that orbits
opposite Neptune’s rotation
•Diameter: 49,532
•Since Neptune was discovered is
it yet to make a full revolution
around the sun.
•Neptune is the farthest planet
from the sun

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•Andromeda (the princess) and Orion (the hunter)
•Sagittarius (the archer) and Cassiopeia (the queen)
•Cancer (the crab) and Taurus (the bull)
•Aquarius (the water beaver) and Gemini (the twins
•Scorpius (the scorpion) and Leo (the lion)

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Andromeda:
Constellation in the northern
sky and is best known for
holding the galaxy Andromeda.
The brightest star in it is
Alpheratz.
Orion:
One of the largest and well
known constellations. It is
found on the celestial equator.
Its three prominent stars are in
the belt. The two brightest
stars are Rigel and Betelgeuse.

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Sagittarius:
Also called the teapot, the
milky way looks like the steam
rising from the spout. Lies
between Ophiuchus to the
west and Capricornus to the
east. Has 12 main stars. Best
seen during the summer.
Cassiopeia:
Located in the northern sky.
Has five main stars and they are
all bright. It is in the shape if a
“W”.

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Cancer:
One of the 12 zodiac
constellations. It is small and
dim . Located between Gemini
and Leo. It has zero bright
stars
Taurus:
It sits large and prominent in
the Northern Hemisphere
winter sky, between Aries to
the west and Gemini to the
east; to the north lie Perseus
and Auriga, to the southeast
Orion, and to the southwest
Eridanus and Cetus. It has 7
main stars and 3 bright stars.

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Aquarius:
Situated between Capricornus
and Pisces
Aquarius is one of the oldest
recognized constellations along
the zodiac . It has 2 bright stars
and 10, 22 main stars
Gemini:
Known as "the twins". It is part
of the winter sky, lying
between Taurus to the west
and the dim Cancer to the east,
with Auriga and the near-
invisible Lynx to the north and
Monoceros and Canis Minor to
the south. It has 4 bright stars
and 8-17 main stars

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Scorpius:
It lies between Libra to the
west and Sagittarius to the
east. It is a large constellation
located in the southern
hemisphere near the center of
the Milky Way. It has 15 main
stars and 13 bright stars.
Leo:
Leo lies between dim Cancer to
the west and Virgo to the east.
This constellation contains
many bright stars , it has 3. It
has 9, 15 main stars.

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•Types of Stars
•HR Diagram
•The Sun
•Pictures

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•Black Dwarf- the remains of a dead white dwarf star after its heat is
radiated into space.
•Main-Sequence Star- It is an ordinary star, one of about 90% of the stars
that can be seen from Earth. It is much smaller than a giant star. It burns
hydrogen into helium through nuclear fusion within itself. An example is
our Sun.
•Red Giant- It is a large, bright star, many times larger than the Sun, but
with a cool surface. It is believed to be in the end stage of its life cycle.
•Supergiant- It is the largest and most luminous type of star, being a dying
star. It has used up its hydrogen fuel and has begun to expand and cool.
•White Dwarf- It is a very dense, small, hot star in the last stage of its life. It
occurs when a red giant sheds its outer layers as a planetary nebula. The
electrons and protons have been packed as closely as possible by gravity.

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The Hertzsprung-Russell
Diagram (HR Diagram)
shows stellar evolution.
This diagram shows the
different stages stars go
through. Stars are
categorized by their
color, luminosity,
absolute magnitude, and
spectral class.

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Solar internal structure
The Sun is composed of many
This Sun is a main sequence
layers. The first is the core, this is
star at the very center of our
universe. The Sun is made up the suns main source for energy.
of hydrogen (74%), helium The core has the hottest
(25%), and very few other temperature, about 15 million
elements. The Sun is about degrees Kelvin. The next layer is
4.57 billion years old, and is said the Radiation Zone. Here
to be about half way through energy/heat is transferred to and
its main sequence evolution.
from the core. Convection Zone is
The Sun will spend about 10
billion years as a main the next layer, here energy is
sequence star. After the Sun is transferred outward. Next is the
through being a main sequence Photosphere, this is the visible
star it will become a red giant. surface of the Sun. Above this later
The sun is not a solid, gas, or the light is free to escape into
liquid. It is substance called space. The Chromosphere is
Plasma. The temperature of
the sun is close to 13,600,000
second to last. This is a thin layer
Kelvin. above the visible surface. Last is
the Corona. This is larger in volume
that the Sun itself.

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Black Main Sequence Red
Dwarf Stars Giant
White
Light Emerging
Dwarf
from a Supergiant

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My name is Brianne Diephuis. I am currently sophomore a student at Grand Valley State
University working toward a major in Psychology and Special Education with a minor in
Elementary Education. I love the summer and being able to do any thing outside. In my free
time I enjoy reading, being with my family and friends, and dancing. I love working with little
kids and I can not wait to be a teacher some day.
Send
Me an
Email

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http://www.nineplanets.org/
Stars:
http://www.innvista.com/science/astronomy/types.htm
http://www.spacestationinfo.com/layers-sun.htm