Introduction	Terms	The Sun	Mercury	Venus	Earth	Mars
Jupiter	Saturn	Uranus	Neptune	Pluto	Bibliography

This site will give you information about the planets in our solar system. It will also focus on some mythology of those planets. We are interested in planets and have always loved mythology, especially the gods and goddesses. We thought that both would be fascinating to research.

Greenhouse Effect -

natural heating caused by atmospheric gaseous trapping heat at the surface.

Revolution-

the orbiting of one object around another.

 

Rotation-

the spinning of an object on its axis

 

The sun is the largest celestial body in our solar system. The average distance of the sun from the Earth is 149,597,870 kilometers. Its radius is about 432,5000 miles. In other words it is about 109.3 times more than earth's. The Sunís volume is about 1.3 million times the volume of the Earth. Also, the mass of the Sun is about 333,4000 times greater than the mass of earth. The Sun is also a very bright star. The Surface temperature of the sun is about 10,000 F. The intense heat of the sunrays can destroy the retinal cells, which causes blindness.

The sun is the largest celestial body in the solar system. The sun has many gods that represent it; there is the Roman god, Apollo, Helios (is another name for Apollo) and the Egyptian god, Ra. Apollo was the twin of Artemis (Greek) or Diana (Roman) and the son of Jupiter. His symbol represents the egg of creation. Apollo had many talents especially for music. One myth states Mercury had stolen Apollo's cows, so in return, Mercury traded Apollo his lyre. He later traded Mercury a musical pipe for a staff. He has a throne on Olympus, which is the home of the gods. The sun in astrology represents the force of life; it focuses on you, what you are and what you do. The Laurel tree, the dolphin, crow and many other animals are sacred to Apollo.

Mercury is the planet nearest to the sun. It is difficult to observe from the Earth because it rises and sets within two hours from the sun. It is estimated that Mercury was formed about 4 billion years ago. Scientist are still not exactly sure because very little was know about it until about 1974. The estimate was based on the craters on Mercury's surface. It is said that the older the planet is the more craters the surface has. Mercury has a very dense and thin atmosphere of hydrogen, helium, potassium and sulfur surrounds the planet. Mercury revolves around the Sun of 87.97 Earth days.

Mercury is the fastest traveling planet so in mythology, he is referred to as the messenger of gods because of his agility. His symbol represents a snake entwined on a staff for protection. Mercuryís Greek name is Hermes and is the son of Jupiter and Maia, the goddess of the fields born in the cave of Arcadia. Mercury was given a staff, winged sandals, etc. When Mercury stole Apollo's cows, he was known as the god of thieves, travelers, commerce, athletes, etc. Jupiter, later gave him a place in the Olympian home. Mercury was part of many myths; he saved Dionysus and had four children, and he helped Pluto by guiding the spirits of the dead into the underworld. In astrology, Mercury symbolizes intelligence, communication and transportation. The element mercury is named after the god.

Venus is the closest planet to the Earth, it is also most similar to Earth in mass, size and density. Venus rotates once every 243 days in a retrograde motion- which means that it rotates in a direction opposite to the rotation of the other planets. (Clockwise when viewed from above the Earth's North Pole). When Earth and Venus meet in their orbit around the Sun, Venus is always facing Earth with the same side. Venus atmosphere is mostly made up of carbon dioxide. The surface temperature is about 450 C which is even hotter than Mercury's "noon" temperature. Scientists believe that Venus is only about 400 million years old.

Venus was a very special goddess in Greek and Roman mythology. She is named after a woman, and her symbol represents a hand mirror. Venus was named after the goddess of love and beauty. In Greek, her name was Aphrodite. The Chinese called Venus Tai-pe, which means "the beautiful white one", the Babylonians called Venus Ishtar, which means "the bright torch of heaven". Venus was born in the sea and was carried to the Greek island of Cyprus. Venus was so beautiful that the gods of Olympus each presented her with a gift to marry him. Jupiter put Venus with the ugly and lame god, Vulcan, who made a magic girdle for her that made her irresistable. Venus fell in love with Mars instead. She had a child Cupid or Eros, who is the god of love. Venus also had many lovers and children. Venus loved the glamour of love. Her son, Cupid married Psyche, a daughter of a king. Venus originally came from Western Asia into Greek mythologies. Her planet has two names: Phosperous "Morning Star" and Hesperus "Evening Star". Some symbols of Venus are the myrtle tree, the swan, sparrow, dove, turquoise and the emerald. Venus represents femininity, love, aesthetics, grace and beauty in astrology.

 Earth is the only planet known to have the right temperature and the right atmosphere to support the kind of life humans know. Some scientists believe that millions of planets in the Milky Way, (the galaxy that contains the Earth), maybe able to support life, yet no one can predict anything. Many plants and animals have developed on Earth.. Many people believe that Earth is the only planet in the solar system that can support life. The Earth takes 365 days to orbit the Sun. Most of the earth is composed of water. Only about 1% of that is good for human-kind to drink.

Earth is known as Terra Mater in Roman and Gaea in Greek. Her symbol is a sphere or the earth. She was the first goddess on earth. She gave birth to Uranus, whoís also known as ìfather skyî. Gaea and Uranus had children, the hundred-headed, the Cyclops and then the Titans who were very powerful. Since Uranus thought that his children were ugly, he was very cruel to them. Gaea got angry and told one of the Titans to overthrow their father with a scythe. He created the giants, Erinnyes and the beautiful Venus with his blood. Cronus, the Titan, ruled the universe. He had children with his sister, and had children, which included Jupiter, Demeter, Pluto, Neptune, Hera, etc. Jupiter and his sisters and brothers had a war with their father for trying to eat them, but legend says that the one who overthrows his father, their children will overthrow them. Gaea gave birth to another monster called Typhon, which Jupiter easily defeated with his lighting and bolt. Gaea is known as the Goddess of Death because she is like the Earth which eventually brings the dead back to life.

Since ancient times Mars has been an interest to astronomers. Mars is about half the size of Earth. Its atmosphere is composed mostly of carbon dioxide. Liquid water does not exist on Mars because of low temperature and pressure. Water exists only at ice form on the poles of Mars. Another thing about Mars is that it has the largest volcano in our solar system, Olympus Mons. At a height of 27 kilometers, the volcano is 3 times higher than Mount Everest and it covers an area the size of Arizona.

Mars is the god of war. His Greek name is Ares and the son of Jupiter and Hera. Mars never married but had three children with Venus. Mars loved war and battle, so many people saw him as a violent god. His animal is the vulture and the tree but it was said to be a dog. Mars is the opposite of Venus and his sign is the male symbol, which represents a shield and a spear. In astrology, Mars shows your energy, strength, courage and passion.

Jupiter is larger than all the other planets combined. It gives off nearly twice as much energy as it receives. Jupiter also has the strongest magnetic field of all the planets. Jupiter is composed mostly of hydrogen and helium. It has no solid surface, only layers of gaseous clouds. The diameter of Jupiter is 142,800 kilometers. It revolves around the Sun in 11.86 Earth years.

Jupiter or Zeus in Greek, is considered the most powerful god. He is the son of Cronus, a Titan, along with his other brothers and sisters. After a long war with his father, Jupiter and his brothers Neptune and Pluto each rolled a dice to see what area of the earth they shall rule. Jupiter got the heavens, Neptune, the sea, and the unlucky Pluto, the underworld. Jupiter married his sister Hera, who was always jealous of Jupiter and his many wives. He is the god with the most wives. Jupiter usually fell in love with nymphs, mortals and sometimes, goddesses. He can transform himself into animal he wishes to kidnap someone he loves. There are other names for Jupiter, such as Lord of the Sky, the Rain God, and the Cloud Gatherer. The bird sacred to him is the eagle and the oak tree. In astrology, Jupiter represents physical, intellectual, luck, success and power.

Saturn is very similar to Jupiter. It is composed of 97% hydrogen, 3% helium and 0.5% methane. There is no solid. Saturnís diameter in kilometers is 120,660. Its rotation period takes about 10.2 Earth hours. Saturn completes its revolution around then Sun for 29.46 Earth years.

Saturn is also known Cronus; he is one of Titans to overthrow father sky or Uranus with a scythe and throwing his body parts into the sea, which created Venus, Furies, and some giants and nymphs. Cronus and Rhea (Cronusís sister) had six children. Cronus was afraid that his own children would overthrow him just like his father, so he decided to swallow them immediately, except the child Jupiter. Rhea decided to wrap cloths around a stone for Cronus to swallow, and put Jupiter with two nymphs and a goat to take care of him. When he was old enough, he thanked the two nymphs by taking the goatís horn and turned it into a cornicopia, (named after the goat) with fruits inside and putting the goatís image among the stars as the constellation Capricorn. Later, his mother helped Jupiter take out all the children that Cronus had eaten, Jupiter, along with his sisters and brothers fought Cronus and the other Titans and put them in the underworld to live forever except his mother, Rhea as thanks. In astrology, Neptune, is known as the grim reaper and symbolizes responsibilities, restrictions and limitations. He also represents peace and his symbol represents a scythe.

Its denser than Jupiter and Saturn. Uranus is composed of hydrogen, helium, substantial amounts of water, and some methane, ammonia, rock and metal. The amounts of methane in its upper atmosphere give the planet its blue-green color. The core of Uranus is mostly rock and metal. It rotates clockwise every 17 hours. Uranus revolves around the Sun in 84 Earth years.

Uranus is also known as Father Sky and the son of Gaea. He and Gaea had many children including Cyclops, the hundred-headed, and the Titans. Since Uranus didnít like the way they looked, he treated them very badly and locked them deep inside the earth. Gaea was very mad and asked one of the Titans to overthrow their father with a scythe. Uranus is known as the father of the sky and sometimes the universe. He symbolizes science, media, computers and technology. Most of Uranusís moons are named after mythology or Shakespearean characters.

Like other gaseous planets, Neptune rotates rapidly once every 16.1 Earth hours. It takes 164.8 Earth years for Neptune to revolve around the Sun. Neptune is composed of 74% hydrogen, 25% helium and 1% methane at the depth of the planet. Its diameter is 49,528 kilometers.

Neptune is the god of the sea and his Greek name is Poseidon. His symbol is a trident or a fishing spear. He uses the trident. He is the son of Cronus and Rhea and brothers with Jupiter and Neptune. Neptune ruled a beautiful palace under the sea. Neptune had many children and lovers, including the Cyclopes. He has a throne on Mount Olympus. The trident he carries can create terrible sea storms and also was used in the battle against the Titans and is often called the ìEarth-Shakerî. Neptune is believed to have created the horse, and it is associated with Neptune. In astrology, Neptune represents spirituality, and imagination.

Pluto was discovered in 1930. Pluto's satellite Charon was discovered in 1978. Pluto is a low-density planet made up of 97% nitrogen. The combined mass of Pluto and Charon is 450 times less than Earthís mass. It rotates once every 6.39 Earth days and it revolves around the sun for 247.7 Earthís years.

Pluto is known as the ruler of the dead and lives in the underworld and his name Pluto meant the ìgiver of wealthî since many precious gems and metals were found were he lived. His Greek name is Hades, which means ìthe unseenî. He owns a giant three-headed dog that guards the gates of the underworld. There is a myth of how Hades got his wife. When Hades got bored of the underworld, he wanted a wife. So he went up to earth to kidnap Persephone, the daughter of Demeter. When Demeter found out that her daughter was kidnapped, she became furious and went up to Jupiter. After a while, Jupiter decided that six months, Persephone would spend time with her mother, and another six months she would become queen of the dead. Whenever Persephone went down to the underworld, Demeter would be said and her tears would be the falling leaves of autumn. She would be so sad that all the crops would stop growing and everything would turn cold. When she saw Persephone, she would happy again and everything would come back to life, this is the mythological theory of the seasons. Pluto has a helmet of darkness that made him invisible during battle. In astrology, Pluto rules your private life.

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