Physical Geography

Jupiter is the biggest planet in our Solar System. It is the largest by mass, volume, and surface area among other statistics. Here are the critical measurements of Jupiter as well as a few other interesting facts about the planet and other bodies in the Jovian system.

The water cycle, also known as the hydrological cycle or H2O cycle, describes the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth. Although the balance of water on Earth remains fairly constant over time, individual water molecules can come and go, in and out of the atmosphere.

Venus "overtakes" the Earth every 584 days as it orbits the Sun. As it does so, it changes from the "Evening Star", visible after sunset, to the "Morning Star", visible before sunrise.

Light travels at 186,000 miles a second at the Earth is 93 million miles to Sun on average. This works out as 8.33 minutes for light from the Sun to reach Earth. On average,

Like the other planets in our solar system, Venus rotates about its axis. However, Venus is the only planet that rotates from east to west instead of west to east. This means, that if we lived on Venus, the Sun would appear to rise in the west in the morning, and set in the east in the evening.

The surface of the sun is called the photosphere. The photosphere is 340 miles thick and it’s temperature s range from 5,500°C to 6,000°C. It has dark spots called sunspots which are the only solar activity observable by the naked eye.

Mercury is closer to the sun, but the atmosphere on Venus actually makes it hotter. Even on the night side, the temperature doesn’t drop by much (comparatively) because of the carbon dioxide, about 95%, atmosphere.

The word “pulsar” is a contraction of “pulsating star. A pulsar is formed when a massive star collapses exhausts its supply of fuel. It blasts out in a giant explosion known as a supernova, the most powerful and violent event in the universe.

Mercury is the innermost planet (nearest to the Sun) in the Solar System. It is also the smallest, and its orbit is the most eccentric (that is, the least perfectly circular) of the eight planets. It orbits the Sun once in about 88 Earth days, completing three rotations about its axis for every two orbits.

Pulsars are spinning neutron stars that have jets of particles moving almost at the speed of light streaming out above their magnetic poles. These jets produce very powerful beams of light.

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Comets are celestial bodies moving about the solar system in Elliptical orbits usually accompanied by a long shining tail. A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind acting upon the nucleus of the comet.

The galactic year, also known as a cosmic year, is the duration of time required for the Sun to orbit once around the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Estimates of the length of one orbit range from 225 to 250 million terrestrial years.

Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system. Although Venus is not the planet closest to the sun, its dense atmosphere traps heat in a runaway version of the greenhouse effect that warms Earth. As a result, temperatures on Venus reach 870 degrees Fahrenheit (465 degrees Celsius), more than hot enough to melt lead.

Venus, which can be seen with the unaided eye from Earth, is the brightest planet in our Solar System. Venus was given the nickname evening star and morning star because of its bright, consistent presence.