Solar system data
The orbits of the planets
| Name | Sidereal Period | Perihelion (AU) | Aphelion (AU) | Inclination (degrees) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | 87.97d | 0.31 | 0.47 | 7.0 |
| Venus | 224.70d | 0.72 | 0.73 | 3.4 |
| Earth | 365.26d | 0.98 | 1.02 | 0.0 |
| Mars | 686.98d | 1.38 | 1.67 | 1.8 |
| Jupiter | 11.86y | 4.95 | 5.45 | 1.3 |
| Saturn | 29.46y | 9.01 | 10.07 | 2.5 |
| Uranus | 84.01y | 18.28 | 20.09 | 0.8 |
| Neptune | 164.79y | 29.80 | 30.32 | 1.8 |
| Pluto | 247.7y | 29.6 | 49.3 | 17.2 |
The Sidereal Period is the time taken by the planet to return to the same place in its orbit, relative to the stars.
Perihelion and Aphelion are the planet's closest and furthest distances from the Sun, measured in Astronomical Units (AU). 1 AU is defined by the average distance from the Earth to the Sun.
The globes of the planets
Name
Equatorial Diameter (km)
Oblateness
Mass (Earth=1)
Rotation Period
Tilt (degrees)
Mercury
4878
0.0
0.06
58.65d
7
Venus
12,100
0.0
0.82
243d
177
Earth
12,756
0.0034
1.00
23.934h
23
Mars
6794
0.005
0.11
24.623h
25
Jupiter
142,800
0.065
317.89
9.842h
3
Saturn
120,000
0.108
95.17
10.233h
27
Uranus
52,400
0.03
14.56
16-28h
98
Neptune
48,400
0.02
17.24
18-20h
30
Pluto
2445
0.0
0.002
6.39d
118?
Oblateness is a measure of how the planet's figure departs from a sphere.
The Rotation Period for each planet is the period relative to the stars. This is slightly different from the period relative to the Sun, which for the Earth we call the day.
For two of the planets, Venus and Uranus, the inclination of the rotation axis is large and the planets (and Uranus's satellites) rotate in the reverse sense to that of their orbits. Otherwise, all the planets, their satellites (and the Sun) rotate and move around the Sun with the same sense of rotation.
Satellites
| Planet | Satellite | Mean Distance (103 km) | Mean Period (days) | Diameter (km) | |
| Earth | Moon | 384 | 27.322 | 3,476 | |
| Mars | I | Phobos | 9.38 | 0.319 | 28, 22, 18 |
| II | Deimos | 23.46 | 1.262 | 16, 12, 10 | |
| Jupiter | XVI | Metis | 127.96 | 0.295 | 40 |
| XV | Adrastea | 128.98 | 0.298 | 24, 20, 16 | |
| V | Amalthea | 181.3 | 0.498 | 270, 170, 150 | |
| XIV | Thebe | 221.9 | 0.675 | 110,90 | |
| I | Io | 421.6 | 1.769 | 3,652 | |
| II | Europa | 670.9 | 3.551 | 3,138 | |
| III | Ganymede | 1,070 | 7.155 | 5,262 | |
|
IV |
Callisto | 1,880 | 16.689 | 4,800 | |
| XIII | Leda | 11,094 | 238.7 | 10 | |
| VI | Himalia | 11,480 | 250.6 | 180 | |
| X | Lysithia | 11,720 | 259.2 | 20 | |
| VII | Elara | 11,737 | 259.7 | 80 | |
| XII | Ananke | 21,200 | 631 | 20 | |
| XI | Carme | 22,600 | 692 | 30 | |
| VIII | Pasiphae | 23,500 | 735 | 40 | |
| IX | Sinope | 23,700 | 758 | 30 | |
| Saturn | XV | Atlas | 137.67 | 0.602 | 38, 26 |
| XVI | Prometheus | 139.35 | 0.613 | 140, 100, 74 | |
| XVII | Pandora | 141.70 | 0.629 | 110, 84, 66 | |
| X | Janus | 151.47 | 0.695 | 220, 190, 160 | |
| XI | Epimetheus | 151.42 | 0.694 | 140, 114, 100 | |
| I | Mimus | 185.54 | 0.942 | 392 | |
| II | Enceladus | 238.04 | 1.370 | 500 | |
| III | Tethys | 294.67 | 1.888 | 1,060 | |
| XIII | Telesto | 294.67 | 1.888 | 24, 22 | |
| XIV | Calypso | 294.67 | 1.888 | 30, 24, 16 | |
| IV | Dione | 377.42 | 2.737 | 1,120 | |
| XII | Helene | 377.42 | 2.737 | 36, <30 | |
| V | Rhea | 527.04 | 4.518 | 1,530 | |
| VI | Titan | 1,221.86 | 15.495 | 5,150 | |
| VII | Hyperion | 1,481.1 | 21.277 | 350, 234, 200 | |
| VIII | Iapetus | 3561.3 | 79.331 | 1,460 | |
| IX | Pheobe | 12,954 | 550.4 |
220 | |
| Uranus | VI | Cordelia | 49.8 | 0.335 | 15 |
| VII | Ophelia | 53.8 | 0.376 | 20 | |
| VIII | Bianca | 59.1 | 0.433 | 50 | |
| IX | Cressida | 61.75 | 0.463 | 70 | |
| X | Desdemona | 62.7 | 0.475 | 50 | |
| XI | Juliet | 64.35 | 0.493 | 70 | |
| XII | Portia | 66.09 | 0.513 | 90 | |
| XIII | Rosalind | 69.92 | 0.558 | 50 | |
| XIV | Belinda | 75.3 | 0.622 | 50 | |
| XV | Puck | 86.01 | 0.762 | 170 | |
| V | Miranda | 129.4 | 1.414 | 480 | |
| I | Ariel | 191.0 | 2.520 | 1,170 | |
| II | Umbriel | 266.3 | 4.144 | 1,190 | |
| III | Titania | 435.9 | 8.706 | 1,560 | |
| IV | Oberon | 583.5 | 13.463 | 1,550 | |
| Neptune | III | Naiad | 48.2 | 0.30 | 50 |
| IV | Thalassa | 50.0 | 0.31 | 90 | |
| V | Despina | 52.5 | 0.33 | 140 | |
| VI | Galatea | 62.0 | 0.43 | 160 | |
| VII | Larissa | 73.6 | 0.55 | 200 | |
| VIII | Proteus | 117.6 | 1.12 | 420 | |
| I | Triton | 354.8 | 5.877 | 3,500 | |
| II | Nereid | 5,510 | 360.21 | 400 | |
| Pluto | I | Charon | 19.7 | 6.387 | <1,200 |
Notes:
- Apart from the following the orbital planes of all satellites are within 5 degrees of that of their primary.
- The Moon is between 18-28 degrees.
- Jupiter XIII,VI,X and VII are at about 28 degrees. XII, XI, VIII and IX are at about 150 degrees.
- Saturn VIII is at 15 degrees and IX is at 175.
- Uranus I is at 159 degrees and II is at 28.
- Pluto I is at 99 degrees.
- The Rings of Saturn have diameters from 134000km to 480000km. The rings about the other planets are not visible from Earth.
- Where several values are given for the diameter, this indicates that the satellite is markedly non-spherical. The numbers represent diameters along perpendicular axes.
- The periods given are sidereal periods of rotation about the planet. The mean distances are given in thousands of kilometres.
