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Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and the eighth largest. Mercury is smaller in diameter than Ganymede and Titan but more massive (Jupiter and Saturn's largest moons respectively).	Venus is the second planet from the Sun and the sixth largest. Venus' orbit is the most nearly circular of that of any planet. Venus (Greek Aphrodite) is the goddess of love and beauty. Venus was so named by the ancients because it was the brightest of the known planets.	Earth is the only planet whose English name does not derive from Greek or Roman mythology. The name Earth derives from Old English and Germanic.	Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the seventh largest. Mars (Greek: Ares) is the god of War and probably got its name due to its color; it 's called the Red Planet. March derives its name from Mars.



Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest, being more than twice the size of all the other planets combined (318 times Earth). Jupiter (Greek Zeus) was the King of the gods, ruler of Olympus, patron of the Roman state, and the son of Cronus (Saturn).	Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest. In Roman mythology, Saturn (Cronus) is the god of agriculture. Cronus was the son of Uranus and Gaia and the father of Zeus (Jupiter). Saturn is the root of the English word "Saturday."	Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and the third largest (by diameter). Uranus is larger in diameter but smaller in mass than Neptune. Careful pronounciation may be necessary to avoid embarassment; say "YOOR a nus" , not "your anus" or "urine us".	Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the fourth largest (by diameter). Neptune is smaller in diameter but larger in mass than Uranus.In Roman mythology Neptune (Greek: Poseidon) was the god of the Sea.




Pluto is the farthest planet from the Sun (usually) and by far the smallest. Pluto is smaller than seven of the solar system's moons (the Moon, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Titan and Triton).	Pluto's moon, Charon, was discovered in 1978 just before its orbital plane moved toward the inner solar system. It was then possible to observe many transits of Pluto over Charon and vice versa. By calculating which portions of which body would be covered at what times, and watching brightness curves, astronomers were able to construct a rough map of light and dark areas on both bodies.	".... if you look at [this image from deep space], you see a dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever lived, lived out their lives. The aggregate of all our joys and sufferings, thousands of confident religions, ideologies and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilizations, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every hopeful child, every mother and father, every inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our species, lived there on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam." -Carl Sagan (1934-1996)



The images were found on the "Nine Planets" web site at http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/nineplanets.html, and were originally taken from NSSDC and NASA web sites and as such are in the public domain. It is highly recommended as a site from which to pull a greater wealth of knowledge on the Solar System. No copyright is asserted for these images.These images may not be used to state or imply the endorsement by NASA or by any NASA employee of a commercial product, process or service, or used in any other manner that might mislead. Accordingly, it is requested that if these images are used in advertising and other commercial promotion, layout and copy be submitted to NASA prior to release. All of the images presented in NASA's Eclipse Site are in the public domain. As such, they may be used for any purpose. NASA/ NSSDC do ask, however, that you acknowledge NSSDC as the supplier of the data. In addition, where the source of the image (by project or as a specific person) is credited in the text, you should also acknowledge that, too. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Houston TX 77058