Chapter 1

The stars above us

Looking up at the night sky, one can view millions upon millions of celestial bodies. Stars, planets, galaxies... the possibilities are endless. Most of the year we can view the neighbouring planets, the brightest stars, and the closest satellites. It may seem overwhelming, but in this chapter I will narrow down the most viewed celestial bodies, where they are in our sky, and when you can see them.

From Earth we can view all the planets in our solar system, along with constellation and the stars that compose them.

Most celestial bodies are only visible a certain time of the year at a certain time during the night . They can be viewed at dawn, dusk, in the morning sky, the evening sky, or all night! Depending if you live in the Northern or Southern hemisphere the celestial bodies will appear differently..

In the sky Venus appears as the brightest planet, followed by Jupiter and Saturn. Mercury appears as the smallest thanks to its size, and Mars almost seems to have a reddish tint to its glow. The last two planets, Uranus and Neptune, are only visible with a telescope. The Sun and the Moon are the brightest and almost always visible objects in our sky. Most of the stars visible in our sky make up parts of constellations

Major stars visible include Polaris, which is better known as the North Star and was popular for navigation use. There is Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, and Vega the bright blue star. Antares is known as 'Mars' Rival' for how it appears similar to the red planet in the sky. These are just a few of the major stars, others include Arcturus, Spica, Betelgeuse, and many, many more.

A chart showing the constellations currently visible over Western Canada and a chart displaying when certain planets will be visible this year

Chapter 2

Our Solar System

Earth is a part of our solar system. In the centre is the Sun, which the 8 planets then rotate around. There are also dwarf planets , asteroids, meteors, and comets that can be found here. In this section you will get an in depth-look at the celestial objects in our solar system.

The Sun: The Heart of our Solar System

Distance from Earth: Approx 150 million km

Mass: 1.989x10^30kg

Radius: 695,700 km

Density: 1.622 x 105 kg/m3

Average Surface Temperature (Celsius): 5,505

The Sun is in fact a medium-sized star found at the centre of our solar system. It is mainly composed of helium and helium (74.9% and 23.8%), with some carbon, neon, oxygen and iron accounting for less then 2% of its mass.

The terrestrial Planets: Mercury

Average Distance from Sun (AU): 0.4

Mass: 3.30 x 10^23 kg

Radius: 2400 km

Density: 13.56 g/cm3

Average Surface Temperature (Celsius): 180

Period of Rotation (Earth Day): 60.00

Period of Revolution (Earth Year): 0.2

Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system and the closest to the Sun. It does not possess an atmosphere, therefore meteors and space debris constantly collide with it, forming a rough, cratered surface. It is mostly comprised of metals (70%) and silicate materials (30%). In fact, it is estimated that 3/4 of Mercury is made up of just its core.

The terrestrial Planets: Venus

Average Distance from the Sun (AU): 0.7

Mass: 4.867 × 10^24 kg

Radius: 6100 km

Density: 5.24 g/cm³

Average Surface Temperature (Celsius): 470

Period of Rotation (Earth Day): 240,00

Period of Revolution (Earth Year): 0.6

Venus is the second planet from the Sun and is often referred to as Earth's sister due to their similarities in diameter, mass and gravitational force. It is surprisingly hotter then Mercury even though it is farther away from the Sun thanks to a greenhouse effect caused by the heavy atmosphere full of swirling gas clouds composed of carbon dioxide and sulphuric acids

The Terrestrial Planets: Earth

Average Distance from the Sun (AU): ????

Mass: 5.972 × 10^24 kg

Radius: 6400 km

Density: 5.51 g/cm³

Average Surface Temperature (Celsius): 17

Earth is the 4th planet from the Sun is the only known planet to support life. It is also the densest planet, composing of oxygen, aluminium, silicon, iron, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and sodium. About 70% of it is water, the other 30% land. Possesses one natural satellite, the Moon (Luna). Earth has a very rapid rotation and possesses powerful magnetic field and strong atmosphere to ensure living organism can survive on its surface

The Terrestrial Planets: Mars

Average Distance from the Sun (AU):

Mass: 6.39 × 10^23 kg (about 1/10 of Earth's mass)

Radius: 3400 km

Density: 3.93 g/cm³

Average Surface Temperature (Celsius): -60

Period of Rotation (Earth Day): 1.03

Period of Revolution (Earth Year): 1.7

Mars is the 4th planet from the Sun and the second smallest planet overall. It is well known for its rust-red colour caused by the iron-rich materials on its surface. Mountains, valleys, and inactive volcanoes can be found on it. It possesses two moons, Phobos and Deimos, and is mainly composed of volcanic basalt with traces of sodium, chloride, magnesium and potassium.

The Jovian Planets: Jupiter

Average Distance from the Sun (AU): ????

Mass: 1.898 × 10^27 kg

Radius: 71 000 km

Density: 1.33 g/cm³

Average Surface Temperature (Celsius): -150

Period of Rotation (Earth Day): 0.41

Period of Revolution (Earth Year): 12

Jupiter is the 5th planet from the Sun and the largest planet in our solar system. It has no definitive surface, and it is composed more like a star then a planet. Jupiter is mostly made up of hydrogen and helium gas. It has a strangely rapid rotation. Possesses over 64 discovered moons. Its strange, swirling colours and famous Great Red Spot are formed from violent weather in its atmosphere.

The Jovian planets: Saturn

Average Distance from the Sun (AU): ??

Mass: 5.6836×1026 kg

Radius: 60 000 km

Density: 687 kg/m³

Average Surface Temperature (Celsius): -170

Period of Rotation (Earth Day):0.45

Period of Revolution (Earth Year): 30

Saturn is the 6th planet from the Sun and the second largest. It is most famously known for its rings, which consist of continuous main rings and 3 discontinued arcs, and are mostly made up of rock, ice and dust. It is the least dense, if you put it in a bathtub full of water it would float. It is primarily composed of helium and hydrogen,with traces of methane, ammonia, hydrogen deuterium, ethane, ammonia ice aerosols, water ice aerosols, and ammonia hydro sulphide aerosols. ,

The Jovian Planets: Uranus

Average Distance from the Sun (AU): ???

Mass: 8.681 × 10^25 kg

Radius:26 000

Density: 1.27 g/cm³

Average Surface Temperature (Celsius):-215

Period of Rotation (Earth Day): 0.72

Period of Revolution (Earth Year): 84

Uranus is the 7th planet from the Sun and is one of the Ice Giants. Uranus is composed mainly of ice, rock, hydrogen and helium. It possesses 13 thin rings and 27 small moons. It's most striking characteristic is its rotation on a 90 degree angle, making Uranus appear to spin on its side.

The Jovian Planets: Neptune

Average Distance from the Sun (AU): ???

Mass: 1.02 × 10^26 kg

Radius: 25 000

Density: 1.64 g/cm³

Average Surface Temperature (Celsius): -215

Period of Rotation (Earth Day): 0.67

Period of Revolution (Earth Year): 165

Neptune is the farthest planet from the Sun and is known for its deep blue colour. It is mostly composed of ice, methane, hydrogen and helium. It has 14 moons, the most famous being Triton, and 5 very flat, faint rings. Neptune houses some of the fastest and strongest winds of any planet and has its own Great Dark Spot similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot.