Diapositiva 1

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THE PLANETS
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Named after the winged messenger of the gods,
Mercury is a small planet that rotates quickly.
It is a barren planet that has a surface that
ranges between two extremes frigid and burning
temperatures because  it has no atmosphere to
hold in the heat when the planet is facing away
from the Sun.
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Venus is an interesting planet with the hottest
temperatures of any planet in our Solar System at
more than 460C. Some astronomers actually
believed that Venus used to be like Earth with
oceans and a habitable environment until the
planets atmosphere underwent an out of control
greenhouse effect. The massive amounts of carbon
dioxide in its atmosphere is mostly responsible
for the planets raging temperatures.
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Earth is the densest planet in our Solar System
as well as the fifth largest planet. Not only is
70 of the Earths surface covered with water,
but the planet is also in the perfect spot in
the center of the hypothetical habitable zone
to support life.
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Roughly half the size of Earth, Mars is famous
for its red color and the speculation it has
sparked about life on other planets. The red
color is caused by iron oxide rust on the
planets surface.
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Jupiters size is almost unbelievable. It is
possible to fit 1321 Earths inside of Jupiter.
Despite its size, Jupiter is not very dense. The
planet is comprised almost entirely  of gas with
what astronomers believe is a liquid metal core.
The only reason it is the most massive planet is
because it is so much larger than any of the
other planets.
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Saturn is best known for its ring system, which
is composed of rocks, dust, and other materials.
However, the planet is also the second largest in
our Solar System. Our view of Saturns rings is
always changing and sometimes they seem to
disappear in the planets orbit around the
Sun.
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Heres a picture of Uranus taken by Voyager 2.
Uranus is an ice giant meaning it has more
ices, such as methane and ammonia, in its
atmosphere than other gas giants like Jupiter
have. Ice giants are a subcategory of gas giants.
The methane is also what gives Uranus its blue
color.
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Neptune is also an ice giant. All of the gas
giants have intense storms, but Neptune has the
fastest winds of any planet in our Solar System.
The winds on Neptune can reach up to 24,000
kilometers per hour. In comparison, the top winds
on Earth only reach a little more than 250
kilometers per hour in the strongest hurricanes.