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Solar System

22 May 2025
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☀️ The Sun

  • Type: G-type main-sequence star (G2V)
  • Surface: Composed of hot plasma; visible surface is the photosphere
  • Atmosphere: Includes the chromosphere and corona, extending millions of kilometers into space
  • Temperature:
    • Core: ~15 million °C
    • Surface (photosphere): ~5,500°C
    • Corona: up to 1–3 million °C
  • Moons: None (but it gravitationally anchors all planets, asteroids, and comets)
  • Rings: None
  • Special Features:
    • Solar flares and coronal mass ejections affect space weather
    • Sunspots are cooler, darker regions caused by magnetic activity
    • Provides light and heat essential for life on Earth
  • Size: Diameter ~1.39 million km (about 109 times Earth's diameter)
  • Mass: ~99.86% of the total mass of the solar system
Image Credit: NASA/JPL

🌑 Mercury

  • Type: Terrestrial
  • Surface: Rocky, cratered, similar to the Moon
  • Atmosphere: Very thin, mostly oxygen, sodium, hydrogen, helium
  • Temperature: Extreme—hot (430°C) during the day, freezing (-180°C) at night
  • Moons: None
Image credit: NASA (Messenger)

🌕 Venus

  • Type: Terrestrial
  • Surface: Volcanic plains, mountains, thick clouds of sulfuric acid
  • Atmosphere: Dense CO₂, extreme greenhouse effect
  • Temperature: Hottest planet (~465°C)
  • Moons: None
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

🌍 Earth

  • Type: Terrestrial
  • Surface: 70% water, diverse terrain and ecosystems
  • Atmosphere: Nitrogen, oxygen-rich
  • Temperature: Moderate, supports life
  • Moons: 1 (the Moon)
Image credit: NASA/JPL

🔴 Mars

  • Type: Terrestrial
  • Surface: Dusty, red from iron oxide, has the tallest volcano (Olympus Mons)
  • Atmosphere: Thin, mostly CO₂
  • Temperature: Cold, average -60°C
  • Moons: 2 (Phobos and Deimos)
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC/Univ. of Arizona

🟠 Jupiter

  • Type: Gas giant
  • Surface: No solid surface; mostly hydrogen and helium
  • Atmosphere: Thick, with storms (Great Red Spot)
  • Temperature: Very cold, ~ -145°C
  • Moons: 95+ (including Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system)
  • Rings: Faint ring system
Image credit: NASA, ESA, A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center), and M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkley)

🟡 Saturn

  • Type: Gas giant
  • Surface: No solid surface; mostly hydrogen and helium
  • Atmosphere: Windy, with storms
  • Temperature: ~ -178°C
  • Moons: 145+ (including Titan, with a thick atmosphere)
  • Rings: Most prominent and complex ring system
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

🔵 Uranus

  • Type: Ice giant
  • Surface: Icy, with a rocky core
  • Atmosphere: Hydrogen, helium, methane (gives blue color)
  • Temperature: ~ -224°C (coldest planet)
  • Moons: 27
  • Rings: Faint rings
  • Tilt: Rotates on its side (98° axial tilt)
Image Credit: NASA/JPL

🔵 Neptune

  • Type: Ice giant
  • Surface: Similar to Uranus, with a rocky core
  • Atmosphere: Hydrogen, helium, methane
  • Temperature: ~ -214°C
  • Moons: 14 (including Triton, which orbits backward)
  • Winds: Fastest in the solar system (up to 2,100 km/h)
Image Credit: NASA/JPL

For more information on our Solar System: https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/planets/

Images sourced from https://science.nasa.gov/gallery/our-solar-system-images and https://images.nasa.gov/

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