How many planets are there not including Pluto, There are eight planets in our solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Ever since the discovery of Pluto in 1930, kids grew up learning that the solar system has nine planets. That all changed in the late 1990s, when astronomers started arguing about whether Pluto was indeed a planet. In a highly controversial decision, the International Astronomical Union ultimately decided in 2006 to designate Pluto as a “dwarf planet,” reducing the list of the solar system’s true planets to just eight.
Astronomers, however, are still hunting for another possible planet in our solar system, a true ninth planet, after mathematical evidence of its existence was revealed on Jan. 20, 2016. The alleged “Planet Nine,” also called “Planet X,” is believed to be about 10 times the mass of Earth and 5,000 times the mass of Pluto.
The order of the planets in the solar system, starting nearest the sun and working outward is the following: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and then the possible Planet Nine.
If you insist on including Pluto, it would come after Neptune on the list. Pluto is truly way out there, and on a wildly tilted, elliptical orbit (two of the several reasons it was demoted).
How Many Planets are There not Including Pluto
8. Mercury
Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. It is also the smallest planet in our solar system. Mercury completes a full revolution around the sun in 88 days. It is a rocky planet with an equatorial radius of 1,516 miles. Interestingly, Mercury does not have an atmosphere. This means that the temperature on Mercury can fluctuate from 840 °F during the day to minus 275 °F during the night!
Mercury’s orbit is oval-shaped. On some occasions, Mercury can be viewed from Earth.
7. Venus
Venus is the second closest planet to the sun. Venus is also the hottest planet with a mean temperature of 863 °F. The atmosphere on Venus is dense and traps warm air within it. Venus is Earth’s closest neighbor.
Venus has the longest revolution and rotation times of any planet in the solar system. Venus takes 224.7 Earth days to revolve around the sun. The rotation of Venus on its axis is so slow that it takes the equivalent of 243 Earth days to complete a single rotation, which means a single day on Venus is longer than a whole year on Venus.
6. Earth
Planet Earth is the only planet known to host life. It completes a revolution around the sun every 365.256 days. It is 92,955,820 miles away from the sun and is the third closest planet to the sun.
It is estimated that the formation of Earth began 4.54 billion years ago. Its total surface area is 196,940,000 square miles, 71% of which is covered by water while the remaining 29% is land. The Earth’s atmosphere protects life from uninhabitable space, shields us from harmful radiation, and controls the weather. Earth is the densest planet in the Solar System.
5. Mars
Mars, also known as the “red planet,” is the fourth planet in the solar system as well as the second smallest one. It has a solid surface just like the Earth, but its atmosphere is thin.
Mars is half the size of the Earth and is 143,000,000 miles from the sun. Mars is sometimes visible from the Earth in the evening due to its bright surface. Liquid water is not found on the surface of the planet due to the low atmospheric pressure. Researchers are examining the possibility that life once existed on Mars. Scientists believe that the ice caps on the poles of the planet are made up of water and that the ice on the south pole would fill the planet’s surface to a depth of 36 ft if melted.
4. Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth and largest planet in the solar system. Along with Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, Jupiter is considered to be one of the Solar System’s gas giants. Jupiter’s mass is 2.5 times the total mass of the other planets combined. Jupiter is a gaseous planet meaning that it has no solid surface, although researchers believe that its core is solid. Jupiter is so large that 1,300 Earths would fit inside it.
Jupiter’s atmosphere is violent. Wind speed travels at an average speed of 340 mph, twice the speed of a category five hurricane on earth. The planet has three rings made of dust particles that are difficult to see. It takes 12 Earth years for Jupiter to make a revolution around the sun.
3. Saturn
Saturn is the second-largest planet in the solar system after Jupiter. It is a gaseous planet just like Jupiter but has nine continuous rings and several ringlets made of rocks and ice. It is considered the most beautiful planet in the solar system and is composed of hydrogen and helium.
The diameter of Saturn is nine times that of the Earth. Its volume equals that of 763.5 Earths, and its surface is equal to 83 Earths. However, it weighs only one-eighth the mass of the Earth. Saturn has nearly 150 moons, 53 of whom have been named.
2. Uranus
Uranus is the third-largest planet in the solar system. Its surface is composed of a frozen component and it is therefore considered an ice giant. However, its atmosphere is made up of hydrogen and helium alongside other “ices” such as methane, ammonia, and water.
Although it is not the furthest planet from the sun, it is the coldest with temperatures that reach −224 °C. Uranus is the only planet that does not radiate heat from its core. Uranus is around 2 billion miles from the sun.
1. Neptune
Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun. It was first considered a fixed star by Galileo who used mathematical predictions to discover it rather than the regular method of making observations. It is nearly 2.8 billion miles from the sun and completes a revolution round the sun every 164.8 Earth years.
Neptune completed its first revolution in 2011 since it was discovered in 1846. It has 14 known moons with Triton being the largest. Its atmosphere consists of hydrogen and helium. It is the windiest planet in the solar system, hosting nine times the average wind speed of the Earth. Recently, NASA discovered that Neptune had flowing rivers and lakes of liquid methane.
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