Which Planet is known as Red Planet?

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and is named after the Greek god of war. It is also called the red planet because it glows red in the sky. The presence of rust (iron oxide) on its surface gives the planet its color.

Spinning backwards

All the planets rotate from west to east on their axes, apart from Venus, which spins in the opposite direction. On the surface of Venus, the Sun appears to rise in the west and set in the east. The planet might have been hit by a huge space rock, reversing the direction of its spin.

Why is a day longer than a year on Venus?

Venus goes around the Sun at a very high speed. It takes only about 225 days to complete one orbit. However, it spins much more slowly on its axis, taking about 243 days to complete a rotation. Therefore, days on Venus are longer than years.

Why is Venus hotter than Mercury?

Venus has a thick atmosphere, much thicker than the Earth’s. The atmosphere is mainly carbon dioxide. This greenhouse gas traps large amounts of heat within the planet. That is why Venus is hotter than Mercury, though Mercury is closer to the Sun.

Which planet is also known as the Earth’s twin?

Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is also Earth’s closest neighbor and its size, composition, gravity and distance from the Sun are similar to the Earth’s. Venus is so similar to Earth, that it is often considered to be its twin. However, in reality, Venus is very different.

What space probes have been launched to Mercury?

Mercury, being so close to the Sun, is very difficult to explore. Space probes are unable to withstand the heat of the planet. Only one space probe, Mariner 10, has visited Mercury so far. It photographed nearly half of the planet’s surface. A new probe, Messenger, is on its way to Mercury. It was launched on 3 August 2004 and is expected to return, after photographing the whole planet, in March 2012. Another space mission will begin in 2013.

Why are nights on Mercury freezing cold, although it’s the planet closest to the Sun?

Unlike Earth, Mercury is not surrounded by a thick protective blanket of air called the atmosphere. This means that the heat from the Sun escapes, leaving the planet freezing at night. While the temperature during the day can be as high as 467 °C (873 °F), at night it drops to -183 °C (-297 °F).

What Planet is lnown as the Hot Planet?

Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun. It is also very small – about the size of Earth’s moon. It is named after the Roman messenger god because it moves very quickly.

The solar system

The relative sizes of the eight planets and the three dwarf planets are shown in this diagram of the solar system. Jupiter is the largest planet. The Sun, of course, is much larger than any of the planets.

What are the distinguishing features of each of the rocky planets?

Mercury is the closest to the Sun and therefore its temperature can be as high as 467 °C (873 °F). Venus is covered with carbon dioxide containing droplets of sulphuric acid. This traps the Sun’s heat and makes Venus hotter than even Mercury. Mars, the red planet, is considered to be the only planet after Earth where life could exist. As far as we know, the Earth is the only planet that supports life.

How did we learn about the Sun?

We have sent several solar missions into space to study the Sun and its characteristics. The first detailed observations were made by NASA’s Pioneer missions that were launched between 1959 and 1968. The Solar Maximum mission of 1980 made a detailed study of solar flares. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) launched in 1995, has been continuously collecting data regarding the Sun for the last ten years.

The Sun takes about 26 days on average to rotate on its axis. Since it is made up of gas, different parts of the Sun rotateat different speeds. The surface closest to the equator rotates faster than that closest to the polar regions. The Sun’ssurface near the poles takes almost 36 days to complete one rotation.

Is the Sun really a star?

The Sun is a medium-sized star known as a yellow dwarf. It is younger and smaller than most stars in the universe, but is very bright and extremely hot. In about five billion years, when all the hydrogen in its core has been used up, the Sun will change into a red giant star. After that, the Sun will evolve into a white dwarf before finally dying out.

What is a solar flare?

Sometimes the Sun produces a huge amount of magnetic energy that sends out jets of gas into space. These jets of gas arecalled solar flares and cause a sudden increase in the brightness of the Sun. Solar flares are often followed by the release of electrically charged particles like protons and electrons. These are called solar winds and are known to travel at a speed of about 500 kilometres (300 miles) per second.

What is a solar eclipse?

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon comes between the Sun and the Earth, blocking the Sun from our view. In a total solar eclipse, the Moon blocks out the Sun from our view completely. In a partial eclipse, however, a part of the Sun is visible. During an annular eclipse, we can see a small ring of the Sun glowing around the Moon. When the Moon is nearer to the Earth it appears larger and therefore covers the Sun completely, although it is actually much smaller than the Sun. However, in an annular eclipse the Moon is too far away from the Earth to block the Sun out totally and therefore a ring of sunlight is seen.

How was the Sun created?

Before it was formed, the Sun and the rest of the solar system was a huge mass of hot gas and dust called a solar nebula. This nebula spun faster and faster until the clouds of gases, dust and ice particles clumped together and exploded, forming the sun.

What is Sun?

Our solar system is made up of the Sun, eight planets, three dwarf planets and many asteroids, comets and other space rocksThe Sun is the largest object in the solar system and is located right at its centre. The planets, dwarf planets, asteroids and comets travel around the Sun in an ellipse. Our solar system was formed about 5 billion years ago, and the surface of the Sun is about 4.6 billion years old.