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241 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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57.91 million km from the sun
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Mercury
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.3871 a.u. from the sun
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Mercury
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Diameter of 4,878 km
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Mercury
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38% of the diameter of Earth
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Mercury
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.0553 times Earth's mass
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Mercury
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28% of Earth's gravity
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Mercury
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escape velocity of 4.3 km/sec
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Mercury
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58.65 Earth days for one rotation
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Mercury
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About 2 degrees of axial tilt
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Mercury
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innermost planet
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Mercury
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Named after the Greek god Hermes
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Mercury
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2nd smallest planet
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Mercury
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Virtually no atmosphere
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Mercury
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Almost always visible during twilight.
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Mercury
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88 Earth days to revolve around the sun
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Mercury
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Surface varies from 400 degrees C to -170 degrees C
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Mercury
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No satellites
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Mercury
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As a morning and evening star, it has a magnitude of about 0
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Mercury
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The next transit of this planet will occur in November of 2006 and November of 2016.
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Mercury
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108.2 million km from the sun
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Venus
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.7233 a.u. from the sun
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Venus
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12,102 km diameter
.949 Earth diameter |
Venus
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88% of Earth's gravitational pull
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Venus
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10.4 km/sec escape velocity
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Venus
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5.25 density
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Venus
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Rotates in about 243 Earth days
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Venus
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Tilted on its axis at about 177 degrees
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Venus
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length of time a body takes to complete an orbit relative to the fixed stars.
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sidereal period
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alignment of two celestial bodies as seen from the earth.
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conjunction
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the angular distance between two points in the sky as measured from a third point.
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elongation
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length of time during which a body in the solar system makes one orbit of the sun relative to the earth
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synodic period
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brightest planet
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Venus
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third brightest object in the sky
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Venus
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Named after the goddess of love, Aphrodite
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Venus
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Associated with the element copper
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Venus
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Its craters might be named after famous women
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Venus
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Atmospheric pressure is 90 times that of Earth
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Venus
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Surface temperature of about 500 degrees C
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Venus
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Atmosphere mostly carbon dioxide
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Venus
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Clouds made mostly of sulfuric acid
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Venus
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US Magellan mapped its surface in 1990
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Venus
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Volcano Maat Mons
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Venus
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Retrograde rotation
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Venus, Pluto, and Uranus
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Slowest rotation of all planets
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Venus
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No satellites
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Venus
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length of time during which a body in the solar system makes one orbit of the sun relative to the earth
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synodic period
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brightest planet
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Venus
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third brightest object in the sky
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Venus
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Named after the goddess of love, Aphrodite
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Venus
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Associated with the element copper
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Venus
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Its craters might be named after famous women
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Venus
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Atmospheric pressure is 90 times that of Earth
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Venus
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Surface temperature of about 500 degrees C
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Venus
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Atmosphere mostly carbon dioxide
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Venus
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Clouds made mostly of sulfuric acid
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Venus
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US Magellan mapped its surface in 1990
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Venus
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Volcano Maat Mons
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Venus
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Retrograde rotation
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Venus, Pluto, and Uranus
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Slowest rotation of all planets
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Venus
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No satellites
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Venus
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3rd brightest object in the sky
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Venus
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Magnitude of -4
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Venus
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Planet that can sometimes be seen during the day.
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Venus
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20 month synodic period
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Venus
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When planets cross in front of the disk of the sun
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Transit
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Next transit is in June of 2012
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Venus
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5.978 x 10 to the 24th power kg
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Earth
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149,597,870 km from the sun
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Earth
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Density of 5.52
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Earth
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1 a.u. from the sun
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Earth
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gravity of 9.8 meters per second squared
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Earth
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Escape velocity of 11.2 meters per second
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Earth
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24 hour rotation
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Earth
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Sidereal period of 365.25 days
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Earth
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23.5 degrees of tilt on its axis
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Earth
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Once thought to be the center of the universe
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Earth
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Formulated the geocentric theory
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Ptolemy
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System that had Earth in the center of the universe
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Ptolemaic system or geocentric system
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Formulated the heliocentric system
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Copernicus
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System that has the sun at the center of our solar system
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heliocentric system
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This planet's name comes from old English and not from the names of Greco-Roman mythology
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Earth
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Planets that are small and rocky with a thin atmosphere
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Terrestrial planets
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Atmosphere consists mostly of oxygen and nitrogen
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Earth
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Only planet that supports life
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Earth
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Has one satellite, the moon
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Earth
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227.94 km from the sun
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Mars
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1.5237 a.u. from the sun
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Mars
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6,786 km diameter
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Mars
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53% of Earth's diameter
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11% of Earth's mass
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38% of Earth's gravity
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Mars
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Escape velocity of 5.0 km/sec
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Mars
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24.6 Earth hours for one rotation
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Mars
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A planet spinning on its axis
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Rotation
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A planet moving around the sun
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Revolution
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Sidereal period of 686.98 days
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Mars
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Synodic Period of 779.94 days
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Mars
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Its reddish gleam reminded the ancients of blood
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Mars
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Named after the Roman God of war
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Mars
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Only planet to have a star named for it (Antares)
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Mars
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Italian astronomer Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli thought he saw canals on this planet
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Mars
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Visited by two Viking spacecraft in the 1970's
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Mars
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Its largest valley is Valles Marinaris
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Mars
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Has the largest known volcano in the solar system
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Mars
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The largest known volcano in the solar system
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Olympus Mons
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Has an atmosphere .7% that of Earth's
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Mars
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Atmosphere of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and argon
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Mars
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An axial tilt about the same as Earth
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Mars
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Discovered Mars' moons
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Asaph Hall
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Mars' moons
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Phobos and Deimos
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Moon that is 9380 km from Mars
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Phobos
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Moon that is 23,460 km from Mars
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Deimos
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Perihelion
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closest point to the sun
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Mars' moon with 1.263 Earth day revolution
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Deimos
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Earth is between the planet and the sun
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Opposition
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When the sun is in between Earth and another planet
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Conjunction
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Name given to planets outside of Earth's orbit
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Superior
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Name given to planets inside of Earth's orbit
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Inferior
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778.33 million km from the sun
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Jupiter
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5.2028 a.u. from the sun
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Jupiter
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123,984 km diameter
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Jupiter
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11.23 Earth diameters
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Jupiter
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318 times Earth's mass
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Jupiter
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density of 1.33
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Jupiter
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2.4 times Earth's gravity
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Jupiter
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Escape velocity of 59.6 km/s
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Jupiter
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3.12 degree of axial tilt
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Jupiter
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Sidereal period of 11.8623 Earth days
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Jupiter
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Synodic period of 398.99 Earth days
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Jupiter
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Named after the Roman king of the gods
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Jupiter
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Named after the Greek king of the gods, Zeus
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Jupiter
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Largest planet
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Jupiter
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Fastest rotating planet (about ten hours to rotate once)
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Jupiter
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Rotation time of 9.841 Earth hours
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Jupiter
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This planet has an atmosphere of mostly hydrogen and helium
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Jupiter
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The Great Red Spot is located on this planet
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Jupiter
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This is a storm that has been raging on Jupiter for the last 300 years.
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The Great Red Spot
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Has a ring, though it is too faint to see from Earth
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Jupiter
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Known as a mini solar system
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Jupiter
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Has 16 known satellites
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Jupiter
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Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, and Thebe are its four inner satellites
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Jupiter
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Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto are known as this.
(4 of Jupiter's moons) |
Galilean Satellites
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The most volcanically active object in our solar system.
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Io (Jupiter's Moon)
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Io's volcanoes consist mostly of molten ___________.
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sulfur
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Jupiter's moon that has a smooth surface, probably of water ice.
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Europa
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The largest planetary satellite in the solar system
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Ganymede (Jupiter's moon)
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The most cratered surface in the solar system
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Callisto
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Leda, Himalia, Lysithea, and Elara
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Jupiter's Moons
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Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae, Sinope
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Jupiter's outermost moons
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This planet has about a 13 month synodic period.
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Jupiter
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At opposition, it is the 4th brightest star in our night sky
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Jupiter
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1.4 billion km from the sun
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Saturn
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9.5 a.u. from the sun
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Saturn
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120,536 km in diameter
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Saturn
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95.181 times Earth's mass
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Saturn
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9.41 Earth diameters
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Saturn
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density of .69
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Saturn
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.923 times Earth's gravity
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Saturn
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Io's volcanoes consist mostly of molten ___________.
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sulfur
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Jupiter's moon that has a smooth surface, probably of water ice.
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Europa
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The largest planetary satellite in the solar system
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Ganymede (Jupiter's moon)
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The most cratered surface in the solar system
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Callisto
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Leda, Himalia, Lysithea, and Elara
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Jupiter's Moons
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Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae, Sinope
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Jupiter's outermost moons
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This planet has about a 13 month synodic period.
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Jupiter
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At opposition, it is the 4th brightest star in our night sky
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Jupiter
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1.4 billion km from the sun
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Saturn
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9.5 a.u. from the sun
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Saturn
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120,536 km in diameter
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Saturn
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95.181 times Earth's mass
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Saturn
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9.41 Earth diameters
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Saturn
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density of .69
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Saturn
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.923 times Earth's gravity
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Saturn
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Escape velocity of 35.5 km/sec
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Saturn
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Axial tilt of 26.73 degrees
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Saturn
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Sidereal period of 29.458 years
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Saturn
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Synodic period of 378.09 days
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Saturn
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Thought to be the mark of the outer boundary of the solar system until 1781
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Saturn
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Named after the god of agriculture and time
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Saturn
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Second largest planet
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Saturn
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Planet that would float in water because of its very low density (.69)
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Saturn
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2nd fastest rotator of the planets
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Saturn
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Since the chemical reactions in its hydrogen-helium atmosphere is weaker, it has a duller color than Jupiter
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Saturn
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The dark area between Saturn's two main rings
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Cassini's division
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Its rings are probably less than 100 km thick
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Saturn
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Planet that has at least 18 satellites
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Saturn
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Its largest moon is Titan
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Saturn
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With its cloud cover, it is the largest moon in the solar system
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Titan
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Io's volcanoes consist mostly of molten ___________.
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sulfur
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Jupiter's moon that has a smooth surface, probably of water ice.
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Europa
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The largest planetary satellite in the solar system
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Ganymede (Jupiter's moon)
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The most cratered surface in the solar system
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Callisto
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Leda, Himalia, Lysithea, and Elara
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Jupiter's Moons
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Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae, Sinope
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Jupiter's outermost moons
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This planet has about a 13 month synodic period.
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Jupiter
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At opposition, it is the 4th brightest star in our night sky
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Jupiter
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1.4 billion km from the sun
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Saturn
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9.5 a.u. from the sun
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Saturn
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120,536 km in diameter
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Saturn
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95.181 times Earth's mass
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Saturn
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9.41 Earth diameters
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Saturn
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density of .69
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Saturn
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.923 times Earth's gravity
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Saturn
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Every 15-17 years, Earth passes through the ring plane of this planet, making them difficult to see
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Saturn
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Saturn's moons that are able to be seen with moderate sized instruments
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Titan and Rhea
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2.9 billion km from the sun
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Uranus
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19.19 a.u. from the sun
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Uranus
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51,118 km diameter
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Uranus
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14.5 times Earth's mass
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Uranus
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Density of 1.29
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Uranus
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79% of Earth's gravity
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Uranus
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Escape velocity of 21.3 km/sec
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Uranus
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Rotation period of 17.9 hours
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Uranus
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Axial tilt of 97.86 degrees
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Uranus
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Sidereal period of 84.01 Earth years
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Uranus
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Synodic period of 369.66 Earth days
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Uranus
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First planet discovered in modern times
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Uranus
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Planet found by William Hershel in 1781
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Uranus
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Named after the Greek sky god
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Uranus
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its axis nearly lies in the plane of its orbit
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Uranus
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15 known satellites
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Uranus
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Oberon, Umbriel, Titania, Ariel, and Marinda are moons of this planet
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Uranus
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Until 2015, it will be in the constellations Pisces, Aquarius, and Cetus
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Uranus
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4.5 billion km from the sun
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Neptune
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Diameter of 49,528 km
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Neptune
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3.81 times Earth's diameter
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Neptune
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17.135 times Earth's mass
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Neptune
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Density of 1.64
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Neptune
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1.122 times Earth's gravity
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Neptune
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Escape velocity of 23.3 km/sec
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Neptune
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Rotation period of 19.2 hours
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Neptune
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Sidereal period of 164.79 Earth years
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Neptune
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Axial tilt of 29.6 degrees
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Neptune
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Discovered in 1846
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Neptune
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Named after the Roman god of the deep sea
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Neptune
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Named after the Greek god Poseidon
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Neptune
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Outermost gas giant
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Neptune
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Only Venus has a more circular shaped orbit than this planet
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Neptune
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Has eight known satellites
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Neptune
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Triton is this planet's largest satellite
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Neptune
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Nereid is this planet's outermost satellite
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Neptune
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Through 2015, this planet will be in the constellation Copernicus
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Neptune
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