Current Events

  • Irish Chronicles Document Links Between Volcanoes and Weather
    A study of over 40,000 written entries in Irish Annals and ice core measurements shows a strong corr...Read more

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    Irish Chronicles Document Links Between Volcanoes and Weather

    A study of over 40,000 written entries in Irish Annals and ice core measurements shows a strong correlation between the occurrence of volcanic eruptions and extreme cold weather in Ireland over a 1200 year period. Data analyzed in this study cover the period from 431 to 1649, during which time up to 48 volcanic eruptions are identified in Greenland ice core records through deposition of volcanic sulfate in annual layers of ice. You can find the study (open access), published on 6 June 2013 in IOP Publishing's journal Environmental Research Letters, at http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/8/2/024035/article. Find out more about how volcanoes can influence climate.
  • EF-5 Tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma Widest Ever Recorded in US
    The EF-5 tornado that hit El Reno, Oklahoma on May 31st was the widest ever recorded in the US, acco...Read more

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    EF-5 Tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma Widest Ever Recorded in US

    The EF-5 tornado that hit El Reno, Oklahoma on May 31st was the widest ever recorded in the US, according to the National Weather Service in Norman Oklahoma. The tornado, which remained on the ground for 40 minutes and reached 2.6 miles across (4.2 km), took the lives of 18 people including storm chasers Tim Samaras, Paul Samaras and Carl Young. For more information on the tornado, visit http://ow.ly/i/2hfDG.
  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

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    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.

Planets - Data Table

Dwarf Planets are listed in a separate table below.

Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune
diameter (Earth=1) 0.382 0.949 1 0.532 11.209 9.44 4.007 3.883
diameter (km) 4,878 12,104 12,756 6,787 142,800 120,000 51,118 49,528
mass (Earth=1) 0.055 0.815 1 0.107 318 95 15 17
mean distance from Sun (AU) 0.39 0.72 1 1.52 5.20 9.54 19.18 30.06
orbital period (Earth years) 0.24 0.62 1 1.88 11.86 29.46 84.01 164.8
orbital eccentricity 0.2056 0.0068 0.0167 0.0934 0.0483 0.0560 0.0461 0.0097
mean orbital velocity (km/sec) 47.89 35.03 29.79 24.13 13.06 9.64 6.81 5.43
rotation period (in Earth days) 58.65 -243* 1 1.03 0.41 0.44 -0.72* 0.72
inclination of axis (degrees) 0.0 177.4 23.45 23.98 3.08 26.73 97.92 28.8
mean temperature at surface (C) -180 to 430 465 -89 to 58 -82 to 0 -150 -170 -200 -210
gravity at equator (Earth=1) 0.38 0.9 1 0.38 2.64 0.93 0.89 1.12
escape velocity (km/sec) 4.25 10.36 11.18 5.02 59.54 35.49 21.29 23.71
mean density (water=1) 5.43 5.25 5.52 3.93 1.33 0.71 1.24 1.67
atmospheric composition none CO2 N2 + O2 CO2 H2+He H2+He H2+He H2+He
number of moons
rings? no no no no yes yes yes yes

Dwarf Planets

Ceres Pluto Haumea Makemake Eris
diameter (Earth=1) 0.076 0.180 0.110
(average)		 0.102-0.149 0.188-0.235
diameter (km) 974.6 2,300 1,960 x 1,518 x 996
(ellipsoid)		 1,300-1,900 2,400-3,000
mass (Earth=1) 0.00016 0.002 0.00070 0.00067 0.0028
mean distance from Sun (AU) 2.76596 39.44 43.335 45.791 67.6681
orbital period (Earth years) 4.599 247.7 285.4 309.88 557
orbital eccentricity 0.07976 0.2482 0.18874 0.159 0.44177
mean orbital velocity (km/sec) 17.882 4.74 4.484 4.419 3.436
rotation period (in Earth days) 0.378 -6.38* 0.163 ? > 8 hrs ?
inclination of axis (degrees) 3 122 ? ? ?
mean temperature at surface (°C) -106 -220 -223 -240 -230
gravity at equator (Earth=1) 0.028 0.06 0.045 0.051 0.082
escape velocity (km/sec) 0.51 1.27 0.84 0.8 1.31
mean density (water=1) 2.077 2.03 2.6-3.3 2 1.18-2.31
atmospheric composition none CH4 none? maybe CH4 maybe CH4
number of moons
rings? no no no no no
* Negative values of rotation period indicate that the planet rotates in the direction opposite to that in which it orbits the Sun. This is called retrograde rotation.

The eccentricity (e) is a number which measures how elliptical orbits are. If e=0, the orbit is a circle. All the planets have eccentricities close to 0, so they must have orbits which are nearly circular.

Last modified October 9, 2008 by Randy Russell.

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