Our first stop on this trip is within what are known as the inner planets. These planets are the first four that are closest to the Sun, are known as the rocky planets, and are all before the asteroid belt. To start out, we will head to the first planet of our solar system, Mercury.

 

 

 

 

Welcome to the planet Mercury. It is the closest planet to the Sun. It is named after the God of commerce, travel, and thievery.

 

Mercury has a diameter of 4,878 km- that is 3,030 miles, making it the second smallest planet, but officially smallest of the actual planets. The minimum distance from the Sun is only 28.6 million miles away, but can get up to 43.4 million miles away. A full day on Mercury equals about 58.65 Earth days and a whole year only last 0.24 of our year. Night and day really make a difference here on Mercury as the temperature can be anywhere from -300 degrees to 800 degrees Fahrenheit. The surface itself looks a lot like our moon and may have once contained volcanoes, but it is believed now to only be made up of iron.

 

I think it is now time to head to our next planet, Venus.

 

 

Welcome to Venus; Venus was the Goddess of love and beauty with a very innocent manner. Venus has also been known as Earth's twin sister.

 

Here on Venus, the diameter is 12,104 KM or 7,522 miles around; at a minimum distance, Venus is 67 million miles away from the Sun and will max out at a distance of 68 million miles away. A whole day on Venus can be about 243 Earth days making it one of the slower spinning planets, but the most interesting thing about its' rotation is that it actually spins backwards! A full year can equal up to about 0.62 years. The average temperature can be around 855 degrees Fahrenheit with a surface very much like ours with different terrain and volcanoes, and heavy thick clouds that surround it. Let us head off to our next planet- Earth.

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