WELCOME TO THE WEBSITE OF THE SEATTLE SOLAR SYSTEM SOCIETY ABOUT S4 Living within the confines of the city limit, rarely   do we ever look up and think about the   world beyond our own. Losing touch with the   heavens, modern generations are losing sight   of the bigger picture and becoming   increasingly Earth-centric. Thus, the SSSS   seeks to spark interest in our Solar System   with user participation, visual manifestation and   related information. S4 STORE TIME CAPSULE

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THE STAR OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM THE SUN ABOUT THE SUN The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar   System. With a diameter of about 865,000   miles (about 109 Earths), the Sun accounts for   about 99.86% of the Solar System's mass. HISTORY OF THE SUN The enormous impact of the Sun on the Earth   has been recognized since pre-historic times,   expanding mankind's imagination for millennia.   Even our modern understanding of the Sun is   still developing; there are a number of present-   day solar anomalies that remain unexplained.

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THE SWIFT TRAVELER MERCURY ABOUT MERCURY Mercury is the first planet from the sun as well   as the smallest; even smaller than Saturn's   moon Titan and Jupiter's moon Ganymede. SCIENCE FICTION In C.S. Lewis' space trilogy, Mercury is known   as Viritrilbia and is the birthplace of language in   the universe. The planets Mars and Venus also   appear in the trilogy in the preceding books.

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THE LOVE AND BEAUTY VENUS ABOUT THE PLANET Venus is the second planet from the sun, one of   the brightest objects in the sky, and is named   after the Roman goddess of love and beauty.   The astronomical symbol for Venus is the same   as the biological symbol for the female sex. FOLKLORE/ POP CULTURE The earliest account of Venus in science fiction   appears in 1881 in the Utopian novel The Great   Romance. Though the author is anonymous,   The Great Romance was one of the most   popular Utopian novels of the late nineteenth   century.

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THE BLUE PLANET EARTH FACTS Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the   fifth-largest of the eight planets in the   Solar System. It is also the largest, most   massive, and most dense of the Solar System's   four terrestrial planets. THE MOON Some biologists say that the moon is   responsible, in part, for life on Earth, for   without the tides causing currents and mixing   of chemicals, life might never have formed.

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THE RED PLANET MARS ABOUT MARS Fourth planet from the sun, Mars is the fiery   little planet visible with the naked eye. FOLKLORE/ POP CULTURE Named after the Roman God of war, Mars is to   commonly described as "The Red Planet"   due to the presence of iron oxide, giving the   surface a reddish appearance. Close to half the   size of Earth, this planet orbits the Sun roughly   every 687 days.

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THE SMALLEST DWARF CERES HISTORY OF CERES Ceres, discovered in 1801, is the smallest   Dwarf Planet that occupies our solar system,   and the largest body in the asteroid belt   between Mars and Jupiter. FUN FACTS Because both Pluto and Ceres were discovered   before the development of sub-categories   for larger celestial bodies, they both have an   astronomical symbol.

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THE GAS GIANT JUPITER ABOUT THE BEAST Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the   largest planet within the Solar System. It is a   gas giant with a mass slightly less than one-   thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a   half times the mass of all of the other planets in   our Solar System combined MYTHOLOGY Jovian is the adjectival form of Jupiter.   The older adjectival form jovial, employed by   astrologers in the Middle Ages, has come to   mean "happy" or "merry," moods ascribed to   Jupiter's astrological influence

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THE MAGNIFICENT RINGS OF SATURN ABOUT THE PLANET Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar   system, and is one of 4 planets that have rings,   including Jupiter, Neptune, and Uranus. Ice is   the major component of Saturn's rings and the   crust and mantle of several of Saturn's moons. RESEARCH Voyager documented that Saturn's atmosphere   has frozen water clouds and clouds of liquid   water droplets below those.

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SKY KING STAR URANUS INTERESTING FACTS One of Uranus' unique characteristics is it's   sideways tilt. This means it's North and South   poles are located where other planet have   their equators. Uranus has 27 known moons,   and a complicated ring system. A year on   Uranus lasts about 84 Earth years, while a   day lasts about 17 hours. WATCH OUT Uranus has been said to be one of the   most chaotic and disruptive systems in the   solar system.

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THE ICY BLUE GIANT NEPTUNE LEARN A THING A fun and handy way to remember Neptune's   main moons is with a mnemonic device.   The word "Mnemonic" is originated from Greek   and means mindful. Complex mnemonic   systems have been used for thousands of years   to remember information before there was   widespread access to writing materials. NEPTUNES MOONS Neptunes Tiny Dancing Girls Look Pretty   To-Night.

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THE LITTLE GUY PLUTO WHAT IS PLUTO, ACTUALLY From 1930-2006, Pluto was considered the   9th planet of our Solar System. The discovery   of several "minor planets" in the outer solar   system ultimately lead to the reclassification of   Pluto as a Dwarf Planet in 2006 by the   International Astronomical Union YOU'RE STILL LOVED While the reclassification in 2006 lead to a   great deal of controversy amongst scientists,   the general public's reaction was probably the   most jarring. New Mexico went to the extent   of passing a resolution, making March 13   "Pluto Planet Day."