4. Mercury Data http://www.vegaattractions.com/images/1mercury.gif Surface Gravity if Earth = 1 0.38 Planet Symbol Mass if Earth = 1 0.055 Length of Day 58.65 Earth days Diameter if Earth = 1 0.38 Length of Year (revolution around the sun) 87.97 Earth days Diameter at the Equator 3,031 miles Moons None Mean Distance from the sun 36,000,000 miles 0.4 AU
5. Mercury is only Slightly Larger than the Moon MERCURY OUR MOON
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9. Phases of Inferior Planets http://www.polaris.iastate.edu/EveningStar/Unit1/Graphics/PicES1_6c.gif http://astromm.calstatela.edu/images/planets/larousse/Me_Phases.jpg Telescope sketches of Mercury Orbit of an inferior planet
15. Impact craters on Mercury have similar features to those on the Moon. CRATERS ON BOTH MERCURY AND THE MOON HAVE RINGS OF MOUNTAINS SURROUNDING THEM MERCURY OUR MOON Jumbled hills surrounding the Caloris Impact Basin
16. Mercury also has numerous long cliffs, called scarps, believed to have formed when the planet cooled
42. Venus Data http://www.vegaattractions.com/images/1venus.gif Surface Gravity if Earth = 1 0.91 Planet Symbol Mass if Earth = 1 0.815 Length of Day 243.01 Earth days Diameter if Earth = 1 0.95 Length of Year (revolution around the sun) 224.70 Earth days Diameter at the Equator 7,521 miles Moons 0 Mean Distance from the sun 67,200,000 miles 0.72 AU
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46. Venus as Evening Star Venus as an evening star in the western sky after sunset
47. Venus as Morning Star Venus as a morning star in the eastern sky before sunrise
60. Earth’s Sister World http://www.arcadiastreet.com/cgvistas/images/venus_and_earth.jpg
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63. The Clouds of Venus Venus is covered with a dense layer of clouds that hides its surface. Unlike the benign water vapor clouds on Earth, these clouds contain large amounts of sulfur dust and sulfur compounds, giving them a yellow-orange color. The clouds on Venus are made of concentrated sulfuric acid.
67. This image of the Venusian surface from the Soviet spacecraft Venera 13 shows rock plates which are possibly fractured lava. Unfortunately, this craft was destroyed by the intense pressure and extreme temperatures on the Venusian surface.
69. The Magellan spacecraft, in an orbit around Venus, was able to “see through” the thick clouds using radar, giving us the best view of our sister planet.
70. This false color map of Venus, equivalent to a topographical map of Earth, shows the large-scale surface features of the planet.
71. A global view of Venus using radar images from the Magellan spacecraft The craters found on Venus tend to be in clusters. This suggests that they were formed from a large single piece of falling debris that was broken up by the Venusian atmosphere.
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74. 3D Venus Map http://masa-p3-rw.hp.infoseek.co.jp/planet/venus_3dmap02.jpg Terras
75. Magellan Global Views http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/photogallery-venus.html
80. June 2004 Transit of Venus http://www.astrosurf.org/lombry/Documents/transit-venus-8juin2004-3d-contact-anim-furlanetto.gif http://www.atmob.org/Photo/venus_2004/venus%20transit%208.JPG Click on Link:
81. Transits of Venus 8 June 9, 2255 122 June 11, 2247 8 December 8, 2125 105 December 11, 2117 8 June 6, 2012 June 8, 2004 Separation in Years Transit Dates
93. Mars Data http://www.vegaattractions.com/astrology/symbols.html Surface Gravity if Earth = 1 0.38 Planet Symbol (draw) Mass if Earth = 1 0.107 Length of Day 24 hr. 37 min. 22.6 sec. Diameter if Earth = 1 0.53 Length of Year (revolution around the sun) 686.98 Earth days Diameter at the Equator 4,217 miles Moons 2 Mean Distance from the sun 141,500,000 miles AU
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98. Mariner 4 : No Canals (1965) http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/martianchronicle/martianchron2/issue2images/mariner4photo.jpeg
107. Although it is sometimes blue, the Martian sky generally takes on a rust color because of dust particles blown into the atmosphere by strong winds. Sunset on Mars
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109. Mars is tilted on its axis by 25.19 (nearly the same as Earth) and has seasons. Martian Seasons Large ice cap made mostly of frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice) The dry ice melts, leaving a much smaller polar cap
110. High winds create dust devils on the Martian surface. A DUST DEVIL FROM ABOVE DARK STREAKS SHOW THE PATH OF DUST DEVILS
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113. The Martian terrain includes broad towering volcanoes, vast windswept plains, and enormous canyons. Valles Marineris is a vast canyon stretchimg over about one-fifth the circumference of Mars.
115. Mars also has volcanoes. The largest of these is Olympus Mons. It covers an area the size of Missouri and rises three times higher than Mount Everest.
119. Impact Craters on Mars Most of these craters are found in the Southern Hemisphere, suggesting that the northern vastness has been resurfaced.
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121. The winding canyons found on the Martian surface are similar to those found in river beds on Earth, suggesting that liquid water once flowed on Mars. Martian winding canyon, photographed by the Viking orbiter The Yangtze River in China has similar features
128. Mars has been the Center of Speculation about Extraterrestrial Life Early telescope images showed features which were perceived as irrigation canals. People feared an attack from Mars, like this one portrayed in “The War of the Worlds.”
144. Viking’s Face on Mars (1976) http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/images%5Cface_mars.jpg
145. Mars Global Surveyor Face (2001) http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/msss/camera/images/moc_5_24_01/face/ “ Face” the truth, Mr. Hoagland http://www.sg.hu/kep/2004_03/0322mars1.jpg