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

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

Mercury orbits the sun once every 88 days and has a tru

2% Nitrogen. This atmosphere also has the presence of helium,

" . . . most closely resemble Earth in size, density, and

There are also traces of methane, phosphine, ethane, and

of silicate rock. The best way to describe Mercury is, " . . .

Some topics in this essay:
Neptune Pluto, Scientists Mars, Uranus Hunt/Moore, Venus Earth, Earth Jupiters, Jupiter Saturn, Earth Venus, Mars Earth, Earth's Saturn, , solar system, grolier 1992, venus earth, planets solar system, planets solar, rotation period, earth mars, jupiter saturn, equatorial diameter, 1993 venus, morrison 74 1993, morrison 74, nine major planets, mercury venus earth, grolier 1992 surface,