home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
/ Explore the World of Soft…ids, Adults, Educational / RocelcoInc-ExploreTheWorldOfSoftware-KidsAdultsEducational-Vol2-Shareware.iso / educate / disk093 / readsolr.txt < prev    next >
Encoding:
Text File  |  1989-05-05  |  5.0 KB  |  103 lines
  1.  
  2.                                   Our Sun is
  3.                                  a star and is
  4.                                  the center of
  5.                                the Solar System.
  6.                                The Solar System
  7.                               consists of the Sun
  8.                               and several planets.
  9.                             Five planets were known
  10.                            to ancient heaven-gazers;
  11.                               now we know eight
  12.                              in addition to Earth.
  13.                                 (This does not
  14.                               include the "minor
  15.                            planets," or asteroids.)
  16.                                   In order of
  17.                               increasing distance
  18.                                  from the Sun,
  19.                                 the planets are
  20.                             Mercury, Venus, Earth,
  21.                             Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,
  22.                           Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.
  23.                                Pluto is 40 times
  24.                               as far from the Sun
  25.                                  as Earth is.
  26.                              Jupiter, the largest
  27.                                 of the planets,
  28.                               is 40 times larger
  29.                             than Earth in diameter.
  30.                                 Venus is almost
  31.                             the same size as Earth.
  32.                               When viewed through
  33.                               good binoculars or
  34.                               a small telescope,
  35.                                  Venus at her
  36.                                brightest shows a
  37.                              crescent shape, like
  38.                              that of the crescent
  39.                               phase of the moon.
  40.                                The reddish color
  41.                             of Mars is well known.
  42.                             With a small telescope,
  43.                              it is possible to see
  44.                             details on the surface.
  45.                               Some observers have
  46.                             called these "canals,"
  47.                              and some have guessed
  48.                              that they were built
  49.                             by intelligent beings.
  50.                              Mars, like Earth and
  51.                               some other planets,
  52.                               has moons--two for
  53.                                the planet Mars.
  54.                            Jupiter has colored bands
  55.                                that can be seen
  56.                             with a small telescope,
  57.                            and the famous Red Spot.
  58.                              Jupiter has 11 moons,
  59.                              of which four can be
  60.                            observed with binoculars
  61.                              or a small telescope.
  62.                             The best-known feature
  63.                                of Saturn is its
  64.                             beautiful set of rings.
  65.                             Both Jupiter and Saturn
  66.                            rotate around their axes
  67.                               in about 10 hours--
  68.                                  a short day!
  69.                           Uranus, Neptune and Pluto,
  70.                            the most distant planets,
  71.                               were all discovered
  72.                               after the invention
  73.                                of the telescope.
  74.                               In addition to its
  75.                             great distance from us,
  76.                              Pluto's small size--
  77.                           about one-half the diameter
  78.                                 of the earth--
  79.                            makes it beyond the range
  80.                              of small telescopes.
  81.                              The planets have been
  82.                               of intense interest
  83.                                to mankind since
  84.                             earliest times, and now
  85.                            the exploration of space
  86.                           by rocket-launched vehicles
  87.                              promises more answers
  88.                               to more questions.
  89.                                 In May of 1989,
  90.                               the month when this
  91.                            was written, the Atlantis
  92.                               spacecraft sent an
  93.                             exploratory vehicle to
  94.                              the farthest reaches
  95.                            of the planetary system.
  96.                             It will be fascinating
  97.                             to see what new wonders
  98.                               will be revealed in
  99.                              the heavens to which
  100.                             man has turned his eyes
  101.                              since earliest times.
  102.  
  103.