2. Mercury
Mercury(budh) is the planet closest to the sun. It is a dry, hot
and almost airless planet. It is also the smallest planet. There
is no atmosphere, similar to the earth’s atmosphere around
this planet. The light and heat of the sun,therefore,reach the
side of mercury facing sun directly.This side becomes very hot.
The other remains comparatively cold.
3. Venus
The next planet nearest to sun is venus (shukra).It size is
nearly same as that of the earth. It receives a much large
amount of heat and light from the sun as compared to the
earth. Venus has a very thick atmosphere. This reflects back a
large amount of solar energy that falls on it. Venus
is,therefore,the Brightest object seen in the sky after the sun
and the moon. Its thick atmosphere also traps a large amount
of the solar energy reaching its surface. It is because of this
trapping that is the hottest of all the planets-hotter than even
mercury, the planet, that is closest to the sun.
4. Earth
EARTH(PRITHVI)IS THE THIRD PLANET IN TERMS OF
INCREASING DISTANCE FROM THE SUN.THE
SURFACE OF EARTH,AS SEEN BY US,APPEARS TO BE
FLAT.THIS IS DUE TO ITS LARGE SIZE.FROM FAR OFF
SPACE,THE EARTH APPEARS LIKE A BEAUTIFUL
BLUE AND GREEN SPHERICAL BALL.THIS IS DUE TO
THE REFLECTION OF SUNLIGHT FROM THE WATER
AND LANDMASS PRESENT ON ITS
SURFACE.BECAUSE OF THIS,THE EARTH IS
SOMETIMES REFERRED AS THE BLUE PLANET
5. Mars
Mars(mangal)is the planet that lies beyond the earth in our
solar system. It is almost half the size of earth. Its
atmosphere is much thinner than that of the earth. It appears
to be red and we often call it as the red planet.
7. Saturn
Saturn(shani) is the sixth and the second largest planet of the
solar system. Saturn has a system of beautiful rings
surrounding it. It is,therefore,also known as the ringed planet.
8. Uranus
Uranus(arun) is the seventh planet and also has a ring system.
Uranus is also the third largest planet in the solar system and
a ‘gas giant’ without any solid surface.
9. Neptune
Neptune(varun) is the eighth planet from the sun in the solar
system. Neptune is also known as a windy planet as very
strong winds blow on its surface.
10. PROFILE OF THE
PLANETS(PART 1)
S NO. PLANET NAME MEAN MASS PERIOD OF
DISTANCE (EARTH =1) ORBIT
FROM SUN
(MILLION KM)
1. MERCURY 58.3 0.06 88 days
2. VENUS 107.7 0.8 224.7 days
3. EARTH 149.6 1.0 365.24 days
4. MARS 227.3 0.1 1.88 years
5. JUPITER 777.9 317.8 11.86 years
6. SATURN 1,427.1 95.2 29.63 years
7. URANUS 2,872.3 14.5 83.97 years
8. NEPTUNE 4,502.7 17.2 164.80 years
11. PROFILE OF THE
PLANETS(PART 2)
S NO. PLANET NAME PERIOD OF DIAMETER MEAN SURFACE
ROTATION (KM) TEMPERATURE
(IN DAYS) (° C)
1. MERCURY 58.67 4,878 167
2. VENUS 243.00 12,104 457
3. EARTH 0.99 12,756 15-20
4. MARS 1.02 6,794 -90- -5
5. JUPITER 0.41 142,800 -108
6. SATURN 0.42 120,000 -139
7. URANUS 0.45 52,000 -197
8. NEPTUNE 0.67 48,400 -200
