Data and Atmospheric Information of the Planets

Editor's Notice: The content found on this page has been found outdated and we will be deleting this page soon. We recommend for facts about the planets in our solar system that you check out the following pages provided by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA):

Planets - For Teens and Adults
All About the Planets - For Kids

DATA AND ATMOSPHERIC INFORMATION OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM'S PLANETS

NOTE: For brevity, only the original 9 planetary bodies will be mentioned here. Other than Pluto, "dwarf planets" will not be included.

Mercury...Orbits closest to the sun, but its night is brutally cold.

Venus...A greenhouse effect gone wild.

Earth...The perfect combination of nitrogen and oxygen, able to sustain many forms of life.

Mars...A very thin atmosphere, but did life exist over a billion years ago?

Jupiter...Massive and stormy, some evidence suggests that it tried to become a smaller, double-star companion to our sun.

Saturn...Its specific gravity is less than water.

Uranus...Tilted at an angle of 98 degrees, its poles receive the direct sunlight instead of the equatorial region.

Neptune...One of the most dynamic atmospheres in the solar system with the fastest winds.

Pluto...Has a highly elliptical and tilted orbit, at times bringing it closer to the Sun than Neptune.

Disclaimer: The following pages have a photograph or photographs of each planet. Nearly all images are from the National Space Science Data Center of NASA. NASA images generally are not copyrighted and may be used for educational and informational purposes. However if the NASA material is to be used for commercial purposes, including advertisements, it must not explicitly or implicitly convey NASA's endorsement of commercial goods or services. The NWS and NASA do not endorse or sponsor any commercial product, service or activity. Any image which is not from NASA is properly credited near the picture itself.