Out there

Planets of the Solar System

Our solar system is a vast and fascinating place, consisting of the Sun and the various celestial bodies that orbit it, including eight major planets. Each planet has unique characteristics and features.

Mercury

Mercury in Color! by NASA
Source: Source: NASA

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and the smallest planet in our solar system. It has a very thin atmosphere and its surface is covered with craters.

Venus

This colorized picture of Venus was taken Feb. 14, 1990, from a distance of almost 1.7 million miles, about 6 days after NASA's Galileo made it closest approach to the planet.
Source: Source: NASA

Venus is the second planet from the Sun and is known for its thick, toxic atmosphere and extreme surface temperatures. It's often called Earth's "sister planet" because of their similar size and composition.

Earth

Behold one of the more detailed images of the Earth yet created. This Blue Marble Earth montage shown above -- created from photographs taken by the Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument on board the new Suomi NPP satellite -- shows many stunning details of our home planet. The Suomi NPP satellite was launched last October and renamed last week after Verner Suomi, commonly deemed the father of satellite meteorology. The composite was created from the data collected during four orbits of the robotic satellite taken earlier this month and digitally projected onto the globe. Many features of North America and the Western Hemisphere are particularly visible on a high resolution version of the image.
Source: Source: NASA

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only known planet to support life. It has a diverse climate and surface, with large bodies of water, mountains, and forests.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot.

Carl Sagan

Mars

Mars at Ls 39°: Tharsis
Source: Source: NASA

Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, is often called the "Red Planet" due to its reddish appearance. It has the largest volcano and canyon in the solar system.

Jupiter

Jupiter Great Red Spot
Source: Source: NASA

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the solar system. It has a Great Red Spot, which is a giant storm, and dozens of moons.

Saturn

This grand mosaic consists of 126 images acquired in a tile-like fashion, covering one end of Saturn's rings to the other and the entire planet in between.
Source: NASA

Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun, is famous for its extensive ring system. It's the second-largest planet in the solar system.

Uranus

This is an image of the planet Uranus taken by the spacecraft Voyager 2 in 1986.
Source: Source: NASA

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and has a unique blue-green color due to methane in its atmosphere. It rotates on its side, making it unique among the planets.

Neptune

This photograph of Neptune was reconstructed from two images taken by NASA Voyager 2. At the north top is the Great Dark Spot, accompanied by bright, white clouds that undergo rapid changes in appearance.
Source: Source: NASA

Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun in our solar system. It's known for its deep blue color and strong winds, some of the fastest in the solar system.

Additional Resources

For more information about the planets, visit the NASA Solar System Exploration website.

Other Major Bodies

This is a montage of planetary images taken by spacecraft managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. Included are from top to bottom images of Mercury, Venus, Earth and Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.