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47 cents Views of Our Planets postage stamps (2016) 2 by James St. John

Available under a Creative Commons by license

47 cents Views of Our Planets postage stamps (2016) 2

This is the underside of a sheet of sixteen 47 cents "Views of Our Planets" postage stamps that was issued by America on 31 May 2016. The stamps depict eight of the the Solar System's planets (= Scott Catalogue # 5069 to 5076). Planet Pluto was depicted on a separate issue (see: www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/54124812004 ). The text describes the photos presented on individual stamps (click once or twice to zoom in and read).

There are four types of planets in the Solar System: terrestrial planets, gas giant planets, ice giant planets, and dwarf planets. The terrestrial planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The gas giant planets are Jupiter and Saturn. The ice giant planets are Uranus and Neptune. Dwarf planets include named and unnamed objects - for example, Ceres, Pluto, Quaoar, Sedna, Eris, Varuna, Makemake, and many others. Only two dwarf planets have been visited and imaged (Ceres and Pluto).

47 cents Views of Our Planets postage stamps (2016) 1 by James St. John

Available under a Creative Commons by license

47 cents Views of Our Planets postage stamps (2016) 1

This sheet of sixteen 47 cents "Views of Our Planets" postage stamps was issued by America on 31 May 2016. The stamps depict eight of the the Solar System's planets (= Scott Catalogue # 5069 to 5076). Planet Pluto was depicted on a separate issue (see: www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/54124812004 ).

There are four types of planets in the Solar System: terrestrial planets, gas giant planets, ice giant planets, and dwarf planets. The terrestrial planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The gas giant planets are Jupiter and Saturn. The ice giant planets are Uranus and Neptune. Dwarf planets include named and unnamed objects - for example, Ceres, Pluto, Quaoar, Sedna, Eris, Varuna, Makemake, and many others. Only two dwarf planets have been visited and imaged (Ceres and Pluto).

47 cents Planet Neptune postage stamp (2016) by James St. John

Available under a Creative Commons by license

47 cents Planet Neptune postage stamp (2016)

This 47 cents postage stamp was issued by America on 31 May 2016 (= Scott Catalogue # 5076). It shows a false-color image of Planet Neptune and is part of a set depicting all the planets of the Solar System.

There are four types of planets in the Solar System: terrestrial planets, gas giant planets, ice giant planets, and dwarf planets. The terrestrial planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The gas giant planets are Jupiter and Saturn. The ice giant planets are Uranus and Neptune. Dwarf planets include named and unnamed objects - for example, Ceres, Pluto, Quaoar, Sedna, Eris, Varuna, Makemake, and many others. Only two dwarf planets have been visited and imaged (Ceres and Pluto).

Neptune is a pale blue-colored world, somewhat like American robin eggs. The traditionally-presented photos of a dark blue-colored Neptune are not realistic, such as the image in this postage stamp. Neptune has only been visited once, by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1989. It is unlikely another visit will happen in anyone's lifetime. Neptune is also observed from Earth, using equipment such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope.

Neptune is the 8th planet from the Sun (or the 9th planet, if one counts Ceres, which one should). It orbits the Sun at about 30 astronomical units. One astronomical unit ("AU") is the average distance between the center of the Sun and the center of Earth. Neptune is three times farther out than Saturn.

Neptune's rotation and orbit around the Sun are prograde, meaning counter-clockwise movement when viewed above the North Pole of the Sun.

Neptune is the smallest giant planet, but is fourth-largest world in the Solar System - it is slightly smaller than Uranus. Like the other giant planets, Neptune has no solid surface and has no traditional geologic features. The average radius of Neptune is about 24,620 kilometers - it's 3.9 times larger than Earth. The planet is slightly flattened - the equatorial radius is about 24,765 kilometers and the polar radius is about 24,340 kilometers.

The density of Neptune is low, at about 1.64 grams per cubic centimeter, but is the highest of all the giant planets.

One day on Neptune is about 12 to 18 hours. A precise duration cannot be determined, because Neptune has differential rotation. Neptune's equatorial atmosphere and polar atmosphere and magnetic field all rotate at different rates, because the planet is not solid. One year for Neptune is about 165 Earth years. Like Earth and Mars and Saturn, Neptune has a tilted spin axis, at 28 to 29 degrees from the vertical. This is more tilted than Earth. Neptune's tilted rotation axis results in seasonality - each season (spring, summer, fall, winter) is about 41 years long.

As of this writing, Neptune has 16 known moons. The inner satellites have prograde orbits. The large moon of Triton has a retrograde orbit around Neptune - it goes around in a clockwise direction, when viewed above the North Pole of the Sun. The outer satellites of Neptune have prograde or retrograde orbits.

Like Jupiter and Uranus, Neptune has a thin ring system.

The magnetic field of Neptune is similar to Uranus - both are tilted, offset, and asymmetrical. The field is probably generated by electrical currents from dissolved ions moving in a fluid water-methane-ammonia layer deep inside Neptune. The ions may include hydronium (H3O+), hydroxide (OH-), ammonium (NH4O+), and others.

The composition and nature of Neptune's interior is undetermined, but is probably similar to that of Uranus. Neptune apparently has a core of rock and metal. The core is surrounded by a thick layer of "ice", a misnomer for hot fluids: water (H2O), methane (CH4), and ammonia (NH3). Unlike Jupiter and Saturn, Neptune lacks an internal liquid metallic hydrogen layer. Surrounding the mantle is a thick layer of hydrogen (H) and helium (He).

The cloud tops of Neptune are very cold, at about -204 to -229 degrees Celsius (= about -333 to -362 degrees Fahrenheit).

The bluish color of Neptune's atmosphere is from methane gas scattering sunlight - the same phenomenon occurs at Uranus. Neptune's atmospheric gases are ~80% molecular hydrogen (H2), ~19% helium (He), and ~1.5% methane (CH4), plus trace gases.

Neptune's atmosphere is weakly, but visibly, banded. Whitish, high-altitude clouds of methane ice can be present. Unlike Jupiter, Neptune does not have many storms. The most famous Neptunian storm was the Great Dark Spot, a large, oval-shaped storm about 6600 by 13,000 kilometers in size. It was first observed by Voyager 2 in 1989, but was already gone by 1994. Other storms on Neptune form and dissipate - they are not long-lived. Winds on Neptune are rapid, at about 580 meters per second (= about 1300 miles per hour).

As of this writing, 14 Neptunian moons are known, the largest of which is Triton.
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Synthesized from many sources.

47 cents Planet Uranus postage stamp (2016) by James St. John

Available under a Creative Commons by license

47 cents Planet Uranus postage stamp (2016)

This 47 cents postage stamp was issued by America on 31 May 2016 (= Scott Catalogue # 5075). It shows a false-color image of Planet Uranus and is part of a set depicting all the planets of the Solar System.

There are four types of planets in the Solar System: terrestrial planets, gas giant planets, ice giant planets, and dwarf planets. The terrestrial planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The gas giant planets are Jupiter and Saturn. The ice giant planets are Uranus and Neptune. Dwarf planets include named and unnamed objects - for example, Ceres, Pluto, Quaoar, Sedna, Eris, Varuna, Makemake, and many others. Only two dwarf planets have been visited and imaged (Ceres and Pluto).

Uranus is a pale blue-colored world, somewhat like American robin eggs. The planet has only been visited once, by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1986. It is unlikely another visit will happen in anyone's lifetime. Uranus can also be observed from Earth, using equipment such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope.

Uranus is the 7th planet from the Sun (or the 8th planet, if one counts Ceres, which one should). It ranges from about 18.3 to 20.1 astronomical units from the Sun. One astronomical unit ("AU") is the average distance between the center of the Sun and the center of Earth. Uranus is twice as far out as Saturn.

The orbit of Planet Uranus around the Sun is in a prograde direction, as are all other worlds. "Prograde" refers to counter-clockwise movement, when viewed above the North Pole of the Sun. Unlike most other worlds, Uranus has retrograde rotation - it spins "backward", or with clockwise motion. Venus and Pluto also have retrograde rotation. However, Uranus is more accurately described as spinning on its side. The spin axis is tilted about 98 degrees from the vertical - it's slightly upside-down. This was possibly caused by a large collision event early in the planet's history. Like Venus, Uranus is considered to have originally experienced prograde rotation.

Uranus is the third-largest planet in the Solar System (after the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn) and is about four times larger than Earth. Uranus is an ice giant planet, meaning it is rich in "ice", a common misnomer in planetary geology used to refer to various volatile chemicals in fluid form. Specifically, ice giant planets are rich in water (H2O), ammonia (NH3), and methane (CH4). LIke the other 3 giant planets, Uranus has no solid surface and has no traditional geologic features. The radius of Uranus is about 25,360 kilometers. The world is slightly flattened, because it spins rapidly. The equatorial radius is about 25,560 kilometers and the polar radius is about 24,970 kilometers.

The density of Uranus is about 1.27 grams per cubic centimeter, making it the third-lowest density planet in the Solar System (Saturn and Jupiter are the # 1 and # 2 lowest density planets). Neptune has a higher density than Uranus.

One day on Uranus is 17.25 hours - it spins rapidly, as do all the giant planets. It takes 84 Earth years for Uranus complete one orbit around the Sun.

The strongly tilted axis results in strong seasonality on Uranus. During summer, its North Pole points at the Sun for years, resulting in brightening of the Northern Hemisphere.

As of this writing, Uranus has 28 known moons, five of which are large: Titania, Oberon, Umbriel, Ariel, and Miranda.

Uranus has a thin ring system composed of dust-sized to meter-sized boulders of ice.

The magnetic field of Uranus is asymmetrical and offset from the planet's center. The magnetic field axis is strongly tilted, compared with the planet's spin axis.

Uranus is a differentiated planet, but the composition and nature of its internal layers is uncertain. It probably has a rocky core, perhaps with some metal. The core is hot, estimated to be about 4700 to 6900 degrees Celsius. Surrounding the core is a thick layer of "ice" (again, that is a misnomer), composed of fluid water-ammonia-methane. Uranus has an outer gaseous layer with molecular hydrogen (H2), helium (He), and methane (CH4). No liquid metallic hydrogen layer occurs inside Uranus, unlike Jupiter and Saturn.

The surface of Uranus (arbitrarily defined at 1 bar of atmospheric pressure) is very cold, at about -223 degrees Celsius (= about -369 degrees Fahrenheit).

The color of Planet Uranus is pale blue (some assert is is greenish-blue, but it is not). The pale blue color results from methane gas scattering sunlight. The atmosphere is about 83% molecular hydrogen (H2), about 15% helium (He), and about 2% methane (CH4), plus trace gases.

Jupiter and Saturn have obvious atmospheric banding, but Uranus lacks visible banding. However, banding is present and can be visualized on contrast-enhanced images, as is seen on this postage stamp.

Atmospheric winds are fastest near the North Pole and South Pole and slower at the equator.
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Synthesized from many sources.

47 cents Planet Saturn postage stamp (2016) by James St. John

Available under a Creative Commons by license

47 cents Planet Saturn postage stamp (2016)

This 47 cents postage stamp was issued by America on 31 May 2016 (= Scott Catalogue # 5074). It shows Planet Saturn and is part of a set depicting all the planets of the Solar System.

There are four types of planets in the Solar System: terrestrial planets, gas giant planets, ice giant planets, and dwarf planets. The terrestrial planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The gas giant planets are Jupiter and Saturn. The ice giant planets are Uranus and Neptune. Dwarf planets include named and unnamed objects - for example, Ceres, Pluto, Quaoar, Sedna, Eris, Varuna, Makemake, and many others. Only two dwarf planets have been visited and imaged (Ceres and Pluto).

Planet Saturn, the "Crown Jewel of the Solar System", has been visited four times from 1979 to 2017. Three visits were flybys by the Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, and Voyager 2 spacecrafts. The only orbiter to visit Saturn was the Cassini spacecraft.

Saturn is the 6th planet from the Sun (or the seventh, if one counts Ceres, which one should) and is about 9 to 10.1 astronomical units distance from the Sun. One astronomical unit ("AU") is the average distance between the center of the Sun and the center of the Earth. The eccentricity of Saturn's orbit is about 0.06 - its orbit is slightly non-circular. Saturn's rotation and orbit around the Sun are both prograde, which refers to counter-clockwise movement when viewed above the North Pole of the Sun.

Saturn is the # 2 largest planet in the Solar System - it is nine times larger than Earth. Saturn is one of the gas giant planets. Not surprisingly, it is similar to its larger neighbor, Jupiter. Neither world has a solid surface and neither world has traditional geologic features, such as mountains, rivers, volcanism, landslides, quakes, etc.

The equatorial radius of Saturn (= from the center to the core to the surface, arbitrarily defined as 1 bar of atmospheric pressure) is about 60,270 kilometers. The polar radius is about 54,360 kilometers. These numbers show that Saturn has a permanently flattened shape - it is noticeably wider at the equator. This is the result of its rapid spinning and its mostly fluid composition.

Saturn's density is about 0.69 grams per cubic centimeter, making it the lowest density planet in the Solar System - it is less dense than liquid water, which is 1 gram per cubic centimeter. The low density is a consequence of it being mostly composed of lightweight elements, hydrogen and helium.

One day on Saturn is about 10.5 hours - it rotates rapidly. One year on Saturn is about 29.5 Earth years - it takes about 10,759 days to go once around the Sun.

Unlike Jupiter, Saturn's spin axis is strongly tilted, at about 26.7 degrees from the vertical. Depending on its orbital position, this means that sometimes the upper surface of Saturn's rings are visible from Earth, and at other times, the underside of the rings are visible. The significant axial tilt results in strong seasonality. Each season on Saturn (spring, summer, fall, winter) is over seven years long.

As of this writing, Saturn has at least 274 known moons. Only seven of these satellites are large: Titan, Iapetus, Rhea, Tethys, Dione, Enceladus, and Mimas. Most moons are unnamed.

Saturn possesses a magnetic field that is generated by electrical currents in a moving metallic liquid hydrogen layer in the deep interior. The internal layers of Saturn probably include, from the top-down, a thick layer of gaseous molecular hydrogen (H2), a layer of liquid molecular hydrogen (H2), a deep layer of liquid metallic hydrogen (H), and a core of heavier elements. The core is probably differentiated into layers and likely composed of "ices", silicate minerals, and metals. Newer models of Saturn's interior include a "fuzzy" core similar to Jupiter.

Saturn has the best developed and most prominent set of rings in the entire Solar System. Major sections of the rings are designated by capital letters: A Ring, B Ring, C Ring, etc. Saturn's rings are only about 100 meters thick - they appear quite thin when viewed exactly edgewise from Earth. The rings are composed of reflective particles ranging in size from about 1 centimeter (= pebble-sized) to about 10 meters in size (= boulder-sized). The particles are about 99% water ice (H2O).

The origin of Saturn's rings is a major unsolved mystery in planetary geology. Despite the uncertain origin, several hypotheses have been proposed. A commonly cited explanation is that the rings possibly formed after the breakup of a moon. All the material in the rings would make up a ~500 to 600 kilometer-sized satellite.

Narrow gaps in the rings are caused by tiny moons. For example, the Keeler Gap in the A Ring is caused by a small satellite called Daphnis.

Surprisingly, Saturn's rings are not always planar. As were Jupiter's rings after a cometary impact event, Saturn's rings have been observed with distinct ripples. In 2009, when the Sun illuminated the rings edge-on, corrugations were seen. Evidence and calculations indicate that Saturn's rings were tilted in 1983 by a cometary impact. Ripples in the rings have formed as they return to equatorial equilibrium. The 1983 impact event was not observed from Earth, because Saturn was behind the Sun at the time.

Saturn's composition is like Jupiter, with about 96% hydrogen (H) and about 3% helium (He). Saturn is color-banded, but subtly so. Overall, Saturn has pale yellowish to yellowish-gray colors. Unlike Jupiter, Saturn storms are relatively small and short-lived, but occasional giant storms are observed (Example: a "great white spot" from 2010 to 2011).

In equatorial regions, winds in the Saturn atmosphere are about 500 meters per second, which is over 1100 miles per hour. Polar winds are much slower.

Unexpectedly, Saturn's North Pole has a persistant hexagonal structure over twice the size of Planet Earth. The South Pole lacks a hexagon. The North Pole hexagon is sometimes bluish and sometimes brownish in color. A vortex is present at the center of the hexagon. Saturn's South Pole also has a vortex.
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Synthesized from many sources.

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡ΊπŸ‡±πŸ‡» €0.01 - .01 EUR - 1 EURO CENT - small coat of arms - 2014 LATVIJA - Europe - 1 EURO CENT - LL - 2014 by moacirdsp

© moacirdsp, all rights reserved.

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡ΊπŸ‡±πŸ‡» €0.01 - .01 EUR - 1 EURO CENT - small coat of arms - 2014 LATVIJA - Europe - 1 EURO CENT - LL - 2014

€0.01 - .01 EUR - 1 EURO CENT
small coat of arms
2014 LATVIJA
Europe
1 EURO CENT - LL
2014

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡ΊπŸ‡±πŸ‡» €0.01 - .01 EUR - 1 EURO CENT - small coat of arms - 2014 LATVIJA - Europe - 1 EURO CENT - LL - 2014 by moacirdsp

© moacirdsp, all rights reserved.

πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡ΊπŸ‡±πŸ‡» €0.01 - .01 EUR - 1 EURO CENT - small coat of arms - 2014 LATVIJA - Europe - 1 EURO CENT - LL - 2014

€0.01 - .01 EUR - 1 EURO CENT
small coat of arms
2014 LATVIJA
Europe
1 EURO CENT - LL
2014

47 cents Planet Jupiter postage stamp (2016) by James St. John

Available under a Creative Commons by license

47 cents Planet Jupiter postage stamp (2016)

This 47 cents postage stamp was issued by America on 31 May 2016 (= Scott Catalogue # 5073). It shows a false-color image of Planet Jupiter (plus some moons) and is part of a set depicting all the planets of the Solar System.

There are four types of planets in the Solar System: terrestrial planets, gas giant planets, ice giant planets, and dwarf planets. The terrestrial planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The gas giant planets are Jupiter and Saturn. The ice giant planets are Uranus and Neptune. Dwarf planets include named and unnamed objects - for example, Ceres, Pluto, Quaoar, Sedna, Eris, Varuna, Makemake, and many others. Only two dwarf planets have been visited and imaged (Ceres and Pluto).

Planet Jupiter has been visited nine times. Seven visits were flybys (Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Ulysses, Cassini, and New Horizons) and two visits were orbiters (Galileo and Juno). The Galileo mission was mostly a failure, because the main antenna failed to open - little data was trasmitted back to Earth. The Juno mission is still active, as of 2025.

Jupiter is the 5th planet from the Sun (or 6th, if one counts Ceres, which one should) and ranges from about 5 to 5.5 astronomical units ("AU"). One astronomical unit is the average distance between the center of the Sun and the center of the Earth.

Both Jupiter's rotation and orbit around the Sun are prograde, meaning movement in a counter-clockwise direction when viewed above the North Pole of the Sun. The orbit is slightly non-circular.

Jupiter, the "King of the Planets", is a gas giant planet, and the # 1 largest world in the Solar System. Unlike the terrestrial planets and dwarf planets, Jupiter has no solid surface - it is mostly fluid. As such, no traditional geology is present (no rocks, no volcanoes, no faults, no quakes, no tectonics, no impact craters, no river valleys, no mountains, no glaciers, no oceans, no landslides, no sand dunes). The planet's average radius is about 69,911 kilometers. It has a rapid rotation rate, resulting in a slightly flattened shape - it is wider than tall. Jupiter's radius ranges from 66,854 kilometers (polar radius) to 71,492 kilometers (equatorial radius). Jupiter is about 11 times larger than Earth.

Being a gas giant planet and composed of very light elements, Jupiter has a low density of about 1.33 grams per cubic centimeter. However, it is the second-highest density giant planet. Saturn and Uranus have lower densities than Jupiter. Jupiter is so large that gravity has compressed its internal materials.

Jupiter spins rapidly - one Jupiter day is about 9.9 hours (Earth hours). One Jupiter year is about 11.9 Earth years. It takes about 4333 days for Jupiter to go once around the Sun.

Unlike Earth and Mars, Jupiter is oriented almost upright - its axial tilt is about 3.1 degrees from the vertical. Because of this, Jupiter has no seasons - no spring or summer or fall or winter.

The number of known moons increases with each successive study. As of this writing, Jupiter has 124 known moons, only four of which are large. It's been estimated that Jupiter may have as many as 600 moons that are over a kilometer in size. Most moons are unnamed. Inner satellites orbit around Jupiter in a prograde direction. Outer satellites are retrograde (orbit in a clockwise direction, when viewed above the North Pole).

Jupiter's four largest moons were discovered in 1610 by Galileo and are nicknamed the "Galilean moons" or "Galilean satellites". Starting with the closest-orbiting moon, these are: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

All four giant planets in the Solar System have ring systems - only Saturn's rings are obvious from Earth. Jupiter's thin rings were not observed until 1979 when the Voyager 1 spacecraft did a flyby. Jupiter's rings are composed of tiny dust particles derived from small inner moons. A planetary ring system is normally expected to be ~planar. In 1996, Jupiter's rings were seen to be distinctly rippled or corrugated. The gravitational influence of an impacting comet in June 1994 tilted Jupiter's rings by about 2 kilometers. Ever since then, the rings have been returning to equilibrium, becoming rippled in the process.

Jupiter's albedo (= light reflectivity) is about 50% - it has alternating bright and dark areas in the form of horizontal bands. On average, about 50% of the sunlight reaching Jupiter gets reflected back into space.

Jupiter has the # 1 strongest magnetic field of any planet. Only the Sun has a stronger magnetic field. Some worlds have magnetic fields, some have weak ones, and some have none. Jupiter's field is about 18 to 20 thousand times stronger than Earth's magnetic field. The field around Jupiter is generated by electrical currents in a moving liquid metallic hydrogen layer in Jupiter's interior. The magnetic field traps charged particles, resulting in intense radiation. The presence of a field results in permanent polar auroras, usually infrared and ultraviolet auroras, which are invisible to human eyes.

Jupiter is a differentiated planet - it has internal layers that differ in composition and physical characteristics. The composition and nature of these layers are quite different from the corresponding internal layers (core, mantle, crust) of terrestrial planets like Earth. Being far from the Sun, Jupiter's cloud tops are naturally very cold. The core of Jupiter is extremely hot - considerably hotter than the Sun's surface.

The current model of Jupiter's interior is based on information obtained during the Juno mission. Jupiter has four major internal layers. At the center of the planet is a relatively small, compact core composed of rocks and / or metal. This portion of the planet is extremely hot and extremely high pressure - about 15 to 20 thousand degrees Kelvin temperature and about 40 to 50 million bars of pressure. Surrounding the compact core is a thick dilute core, or "fuzzy core". Apparently, this refers to a mix of heavy material, such as silicates and "ice", with helium and metallic hydrogen. Surrounding the dilute core is a thick layer of liquid metallic hydrogen (H), an exotic substance that does not occur anywhere else in the Solar System, except in the interior of Saturn. Metallic hydrogen requires very high pressure to form - many millions of bars of pressure. The liquid metallic hydrogen layer is relatively rich in helium (He). Moving currents in this layer generate Jupiter's magnetic field. The outermost layer of Jupiter consists of molecular hydrogen gas (H2) and is relatively poor in helium. This layer extends from the cold cloud tops (~165 degrees Kelvin) to a deep level at 2 million bars of pressure and ~6500 degrees Kelvin.

Jupiter's atmosphere is ~90% hydrogen (H) and ~10% helium (He), the two lightest and most common elements in the Universe. Jupiter's air also includes trace amounts of water vapor (H2O), methane (CH4), ammonia (NH3), ethane (C2H6), semi-heavy hydrogen (HD), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and other gases.

The atmosphere of Jupiter is strongly color-banded with numerous storms. Not surprisingly, lightning has been detected at Jupiter by Voyager 1, Galileo, and Juno. Jupiter lightning is most common in polar areas and can be hundreds of times more powerful than Earth lightning.

The alternating bands of Jupiter's atmosphere are called zones (if light-colored) and belts (if dark-colored). Winds in zones and belts are rapid - up to a couple hundred meters per second, which is faster than winds in the most powerful hurricanes on Earth.

The most famous storm on Jupiter is the "Great Red Spot", a huge, counter-clockwise rotating storm ("anticyclone") in Jupiter's Southern Hemisphere. It is a long-lived feature and has existed for centuries. It used to be ~40,000 kilometers in size, but is currently less than half that. The Great Red Spot storm rotates once every ~6 days. Smaller storms appear and disappear on the scale of years to decades.

Unexpectedly, the polar areas of Jupiter are bluish-colored. Polar areas have many storms, as do the temperate and equatorial areas. Juno has observed eight storms forming a square around the North Pole. It's also observed six storms forming a hexagon around a central storm at the South Pole.

Impacts do occur at Jupiter, but they don't leave impact craters, because there is no solid surface. Instead, incoming bodies form holes in Jupiter's clouds. A series of fragments from a highly-disrupted comet (Shoemaker-Levy 9 Comet) impacted with Jupiter in 1994. Individual impact events produced ~Earth-sized holes in the cloud tops. Another notable impact occurred in 2009, the scar from which persisted from July to November 2009.
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Synthesized from many sources.

47 cents Planet Mars postage stamp (2016) by James St. John

Available under a Creative Commons by license

47 cents Planet Mars postage stamp (2016)

This 47 cents postage stamp was issued by America on 31 May 2016 (= Scott Catalogue # 5072). It shows Planet Mars and is part of a set depicting all the planets of the Solar System.

There are four types of planets in the Solar System: terrestrial planets, gas giant planets, ice giant planets, and dwarf planets. The terrestrial planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The gas giant planets are Jupiter and Saturn. The ice giant planets are Uranus and Neptune. Dwarf planets include named and unnamed objects - for example, Ceres, Pluto, Quaoar, Sedna, Eris, Varuna, Makemake, and many others. Only two dwarf planets have been visited and imaged (Ceres and Pluto).

Mars, the "Red Planet", is the fourth and farthest-out terrestrial planet from the Sun. There have been many Mars missions, both successes and failures. Mars visits occurred from 1965 to the present day and include flybys, orbiters, landers, and rovers. Missions to Mars have been done by the Americans, Russians, Europeans, Indians, Arabs, and Chinese. Notable landers include Viking 1 and Viking 2 from 1976 to 1982. Martian rovers were named Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance. The latter two are still active as of 2025.

Mars orbits the Sun at ~1.4 to ~1.7 astronomical units ("AU"). One "AU" is the average distance between the center of the Sun and the center of the Earth. Both Mars' rotation and orbit around the Sun are in a prograde direction (= counterclockwise motion, when viewed above the North Pole of the Sun). Mars' orbit is slightly noncircular - the orbital eccentricity is about 0.09. In contrast, Earth's orbit around the Sun is close to circular.

Of the four terrestrial planets, Mars is the second-smallest, with a average radius of about 3389 kilometers. It is about 53% the size of Planet Earth. Mars' radius is ~7 kilometers larger from the center of the Martian core to the equator and 13 kilometers smaller from the core's center to the poles. Mars being slightly flattened is a result of its rotation - all planets are slightly to noticeably flattened. The density of Mars is about 3.93 grams per cubic centimeter, making it the fourth-highest density world in the Solar System, but it's the lowest-density terrestrial planet.

One day on Mars is similar to Earth, because it rotates relatively quickly. One Earth day is 24 hours, but one Martian day is 24 hours + 37 minutes (= one sidereal day). Sunrise to sunrise on Mars is 24 hours + 39 minutes (= one solar day). One Martian year is 687 days (Earth days) long, which is about 1.88 Earth years.

Like Earth, Mars has seasons due to a tilted axis. The Martian spin axis is tilted about 25.2 degrees from the vertical. Each season on Mars (spring, summer, fall, winter) is almost twice as long as on Earth. Mars' axis is tilted a bit more than Earth's axis.

Mars has two tiny moons, named Phobos (the larger one) and Deimos (the smaller one). They may be gravitationally-captured asteroids, but not everyone agrees with that interpretation. Some researchers conclude that they formed during large impact events on Mars.

Planet Mars has a low albedo - it's a relatively dark object. "Albedo" refers to the reflectivity of a surface. Bright worlds have high albedo and dark worlds have low albedo. Martian albedo is about 25% (using the more intuitive calculation for albedo, which is the percentage of sunlight reflected back into space).

Unlike Earth, Mars has no global magnetic field, although small, umbrella-shaped, localized magnetic fields occur in some areas. Most of these are in the Martian southern hemisphere. They are considered remnants of a global magnetic field that decayed away long ago. Before 4.1 billion years ago, Mars did have a global magnetic field. It died when the liquid core stopped convecting - no more heat currents. Magnetic fields disappear if hot, molten material stagnates.

The geologic history of Mars is poorly known, compared with Earth, but a Martian geologic time scale has been constructed. Based on geology, the time scale units are (from youngest to oldest): Amazonian Period, Hesperian Period, Noachian Period, and Pre-Noachian Period. Those names are derived from geographic regions. Based on mineralogy, the time units are (youngest to oldest): Siderikan Era, Theiikian Era, and Phyllocian Era. Those names are based on the dominant mineral group forming at the time: iron oxides or sulfates or phyllosilicates / clays.

Mars is nicknamed the "Red Planet" because its surface is mostly covered with reddish-brown dust. The color is from hematite (Fe2O3, iron oxide), which is natural rust. 2025 update: the reddish color is probably from ferrihydrite, which is slightly different from hematite. Ferrihydrite is an iron hydroxy-oxide mineral, Fe10O14(OH)2.

Mars experiences very slow weathering - it has a dry, sandy, dusty, desert-like surface. Temperatures range from warm to very cold: +35 degrees Celsius to -153 degrees Celsius (= ~+95 degrees Fahrenheit to -243 degrees Fahrenheit). Daytime on Mars is obviously warmer and nighttime is quite cold. Average temperatures are about -60 degrees Celsius (= -80 degrees Fahrenheit).

Remarkably, Mars has blue-colored sunsets, unlike the reddish-orange sunsets commonly seen on Earth. Martian atmospheric dust scatters blue light into the area around the Sun - the blue coloration is only apparent near sunrise and sunset.

Mars does have air, but it is very thin. Atmospheric pressure on Mars is about 0.63% that of Earth's (= 1 / 160th of Earth's). Martian air pressure was much higher in the geologic past, but most of Mars' air has been lost to space. Mars continues to leak air into space today, due to the planet's small size and relatively low gravity. About 95.3% of Martian air is carbon dioxide gas (CO2). Other gases: ~2.6% nitrogen gas (N2), ~1.9% argon gas (Ar), plus trace gases. Tiny amounts of methane gas (CH4, a type of petroleum gas) are released from the ground. Most methane release is during Martian summer and fall. On Earth, methane gas release is geologic in origin (from volcanic gases) or biologic / biogenic (from organisms). Is is unknown if Martian methane release is geologic or microbial or both.

The low atmospheric pressure of Mars prevents liquid water from existing at the surface. On a pressure-temperature diagram for water (H2O), the water ice field, liquid water field, and water vapor field meet at one point, called the triple point. Mars is past the triple point, so there's no liquid water. In the distant geologic past, air was thicker and liquid water could exist at the surface. River channels and deltas and ancient shorelines are present throughout Mars.

Because Mars has an atmosphere, it does have clouds and weather, but no rain. At the poles, Mars can have water ice snow (H2O) or dry ice snow (CO2). Mars can experience fog in topographic lows such as valleys or impact craters. Frost can occur on the ground - it condenses from the chilly Martian air at night. Mars does not have rain storms, but it does have dust storms. These can be global in extent and last weeks to months. Winds reach up to ~113 kilometers per hour (~70 miles per hour). Smaller-scale weather phenomena include dust devils - these have even been photographed in action by orbiters. Dust devil tracks are common on Mars.

Like all terrestrial worlds, Mars is differentiated into a core, mantle, and crust. The core is rich in iron (Fe), sulfur (S), and oxygen (O). The Martian core is about half the size of Earth's core. Based on seismic studies from the InSight lander, the Martian core has a radius of about 1810 to 1860 kilometers. The core may have one or two parts and may be liquid or solid or both. Like Earth, the Martian mantle is peridotite-rich, at least in the upper part. Martian crust is mostly basalt, a mafic, extrusive igneous rock ("black lava rock") dominated by plagioclase feldspar and pyroxene. Martian crustal rocks may also include significant basaltic andesite and andesite.

Mars does not have plate tectonics - its lithosphere is not fragmented. As such, it is often given the silly nickname "One Plate Planet". Earth is the only world known to have operating plate tectonics. However, Mars may have had some style of plate tectonics in ancient times, as hinted by magnetic stripes in the Southern Hemisphere. Some consider the linear Mariner Valley to be a transform fault.

Topographically, Mars has a striking dichotomy (global asymmetry) - the Northern Hemisphere is mostly low elevation and the Southern Hemisphere is mostly high elevation. The Northern Lowlands on Mars are called the Borealis Basin and may have formed during an ancient giant impact event (?). Mars' Northern Lowlands are relatively smooth, lightly cratered, and consist of lava flows and sediments. The Southern Highlands are ancient, topographically rough, and heavily cratered. Elevational relief on Mars is ~28.4 to 29.5 kilometers (= ~18 miles), which is much greater than Earth's or Venus' total relief. The highest point on Mars is Mount Olympus in the Tharsis region. The lowest point is the deepest impact crater in the Hellas Impact Basin.

Important topographic features on Mars include the Tharsis Bulge, a volcanic region, the Hellas Impact Basin, the Argyre Impact Basin, Mariner Valley, and Elysium, another volcanic region.

Like Earth, Mars has a cryosphere. Earth's crysosphere consists of two large continental glaciers, the Greenland Ice Sheet and the Antarctic Ice Sheet, plus numerous smaller alpine glaciers. Mars' cryosphere has no glaciers, but consists of two large polar ice caps, composed of water ice (H2O) and dry ice (CO2). Both polar ice caps are permanent, but they do expand and shrink with the seasons. Oddly, they have spiral troughs, which are better developed in the North Polar Cap. Also strangely, the Martian polar ice caps have explosion holes. In springtime, sunlight shines through the transparent ice. The warming dry ice sublimates from the bottom-up, resulting in geyser-like eruptions of gas and sediments. The Martian cryosphere also includes some ice-filled impact craters - for example, Korolev Crater near the North Polar Cap.

Mars does have shorelines, but no oceans. A large ocean was present in the Borealis Basin / Northern Lowlands long ago, before the Martian atmosphere passed the triple point of water. Rivers emptied into the ocean in ancient times. The river valleys are completely dry now, but they used to have running water. Tributaries, distributaries, and deltas are present on Mars. The most common stream drainage pattern on Mars (& Earth) is dendritic. The most significant river valley on Mars is Mariner Valley ("Valles Marineris") - it is over 4000 kilometers long (over 2500 miles), 2 to 7 kilometers deep, and over 600 kilometers across at its widest. This is much, much larger than the Grand Canyon on Earth. Mariner Valley possibly formed by crustal fracturing during uplift of the nearby Tharsis Bulge.

Martian valley networks are often considered to indicate a "warm and wet" early Mars, but this may not be accurate. Martian stream networks are juvenile in appearance - they do not appear to be well developed. The headwaters of Mariner Valley, the largest stream channel on Mars, is in a volcanic region. Temporary meltwater from volcanism drained and eroded the landscapes.

Every world with a solid surface has mass wasting - "landslides". Active mass wasting has been photographed on Mars by orbiters. Landslide chutes and debris aprons are common on steep surfaces such as impact crater walls and river valley walls. Dark-colored "seasonal streaks" representing small-scale mass wasting events are common on Mars. They may be composed of dry or wet material (probably the former, because Mars is past the triple point of water).

Wind-blown sand dunes ("eolian dunes") occur on several worlds: Venus, Earth, Mars, Io, Titan, and Pluto. Martian examples include transverse dunes, with linear to somewhat linear ridges, and barchan dunes, which are crescent shaped.

Both Mars and Earth have abundant siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. On Mars, sandstones are common. Sandstones are composed of lithified sand grains, which are between 2 and 1 / 16 of a millimeter in size. Cross-bedded sandstones are often seen. Cross-bedding refers to tilted layers between horizontal layers. It forms in a one-directional current by wind or water. Some Martian sandstones have preserved ripple marks, which also indicate presence of ancient currents. Observed examples on Mars are lacustrine symmetrical ripple marks - an ancient lake once filled an impact crater (for example, Gale Crater).

Inferred lacustrine mudrocks are also known on Mars. Calling them "shale" is probably not appropriate, because they do not appear to be very fissile. Shale is the most common sedimentary rock on Earth - it is very fine-grained, with sediment sizes less than 1 / 256 of a millimeter. Mars also has conglomerate, a coarse-grained, poorly-sorted sedimentary rock. Conglomerate has rounded to subrounded large grains (pebbles).

Hematite-rich concretions were famously encountered near Fram Crater during a Martian rover mission. Nicknamed "blueberries", the concretions are small and spherical to subspherical. Concretions are post-depositional mineral masses that range in shape from spherical to irregular.

Despite lacking active plate tectonics, Mars does experience quakes. Marsquakes were first detected in the 1970s by the Viking 2 lander. Over 1,300 quakes were recorded by the InSight lander from 2018 to 2022. Notable Marsquakes have magnitudes in the 2s, 3s, and 4s. The largest detected Marsquake so far was a magnitude ~5 event on 4 May 2022. Some quakes have been caused by recent impact events.

Mars has large volcanic regions, many individual volcanoes, and many lava flows. Volcanism on Mars is currently inactive (active volcanism is known on Venus, Earth, and Io). Of the various types of volcanism (silicate volcanism, cryovolcanism, sulfur volcanism, ferrovolcanism), Mars used to have silicate volcanism. The largest volcanic features on Mars include the Northern Lowlands, with widespread lava plains, and Tharsis, with multiple giant, basaltic shield volcanoes. The largest volcano in Tharsis is Mount Olympus ("Olympus Mons"), a basaltic shield volcano similar to Mauna Loa Volcano at Hawaii, but much larger. Other huge Tharsis volcanoes are Mount Alba, Mount Arsia, Mount Pavonis, and Mount Ascraeus. In 2024, another Tharsis volcano, highly dissected by fluvial erosion, was recognized - Noctis Volcano occurs at the head of Mariner Valley. The large Tharsis mountains are hotspot volcanoes, like the Hawaii Hotspot and Yellowstone Hotspot on Earth - large mantle plumes occur below them. The Martian mantle plumes at Tharsis were possibly generated by a large ~antipodal impact.

Mount Olympus is the largest volcano in the entire Solar System and stands at ~24 kilometers high. It was still active in the late Amazonian on the Martian geologic time scale.

Tharsis shield volcanoes experienced effusive eruptions of basalt lava. Explosive volcanism also occurred on Mars - for example, Eden Patera is an inferred caldera complex that had explosive eruptions.

Most Martian volcanic rocks are basalt (mafic), including vesicular basalt with gas bubbles. Columnar-jointed basalt lava flows have been imaged on Mars near Marte Valley. Famous examples of columnar jointing on Earth include Giant's Causeway in Ireland, Devils Tower in Wyoming, and Devils Postpile in California. Columnar jointing forms as lava flows cool and contract.

Martian volcanic lithologies also include andesite, dacite, trachyte, tephrite, and others.

Large to small impact craters are abundant on Mars. Over 400,000 Martian craters are over 1 kilometer-sized. The # 1 largest impact structure is the Hellas Impact Basin, with a diameter of ~2000 kilometers.

Earth is the only world definitely known to harbor life. Mars may have and/or may have had life forms. Very small, bacteria-like structures were found inside Martian igneous rocks (for example, the Allan Hills 84001 Meteorite, a 4.09 billion year old orthopyroxenite). Fossils are expected in sedimentary rocks, but not igneous rocks. However, fossils do occur in igneous rocks on Earth, but very rarely. Martian microfossils have been found in multiple rocks - most are exceedingly small. Many consider the structures to be too small to be bacteria, and that they are mineral formations. On Earth, extremely small nannobateria do exist, despite assertions to the contrary. So, the size argument by itself does not wash. The Martian microfossils are associated with organic matter. Many people reject these structures as fossils, but they may be. Possible evidence for still-extant Martian life is the seasonally-varying release of methane gas (CH4) from the ground.
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Synthesized from many sources.

Hong Kong 20 cents Tourist Publiciity postage stamp (1977) by James St. John

Available under a Creative Commons by license

Hong Kong 20 cents Tourist Publiciity postage stamp (1977)

This 20 cents commemorative postage stamp (= Scott Catalogue # 338) was issued by Hong Kong on 30 June 1977. The stamp's theme is "Tourist Publicity" and depicts streetcars.

Hong Kong 20 cents Queen Elizabeth II postage stamp (1973) by James St. John

Available under a Creative Commons by license

Hong Kong 20 cents Queen Elizabeth II postage stamp (1973)

This 20 cents definitive postage stamp (= Scott Catalogue # 277) was issued by Hong Kong on 12 June 1973. It depicts the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth the Second and is part of a set of 14 definitives denominated 10 cents to twenty dollars.

The bust design is based on a plaster cast made by Arnold Machin. "Machin heads" are a famous series of British definitive stamps that used the design from the 1960s to the 2020s. British Machin head stamps have the queen wearing a crown and a necklace. This Hong Kong Machin head stamp has the queen wearing a wreath and no necklace.
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Info. at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machin_series

Hong Kong 50 cents Queen Elizabeth II postage stamp (1973) by James St. John

Available under a Creative Commons by license

Hong Kong 50 cents Queen Elizabeth II postage stamp (1973)

This 50 cents definitive postage stamp (= Scott Catalogue # 281) was issued by Hong Kong on 12 June 1973. It depicts the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth the Second and is part of a set of 14 definitives denominated 10 cents to twenty dollars.

The bust design is based on a plaster cast made by Arnold Machin. "Machin heads" are a famous series of British definitive stamps that used the design from the 1960s to the 2020s. British Machin head stamps have the queen wearing a crown and a necklace. This Hong Kong Machin head stamp has the queen wearing a wreath and no necklace.
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Info. at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machin_series

Hong Kong 10 cents Queen Elizabeth II postage stamp (1973) by James St. John

Available under a Creative Commons by license

Hong Kong 10 cents Queen Elizabeth II postage stamp (1973)

This 10 cents definitive postage stamp (= Scott Catalogue # 275) was issued by Hong Kong on 12 June 1973. It depicts the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth the Second and is part of a set of 14 definitives denominated 10 cents to twenty dollars.

The bust design is based on a plaster cast made by Arnold Machin. "Machin heads" are a famous series of British definitive stamps that used the design from the 1960s to the 2020s. British Machin head stamps have the queen wearing a crown and a necklace. This Hong Kong Machin head stamp has the queen wearing a wreath and no necklace.
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Info. at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machin_series

Hong Kong 10 cents 25th Wedding Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II & Prince Philip postage stamp (1972) by James St. John

Available under a Creative Commons by license

Hong Kong 10 cents 25th Wedding Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II & Prince Philip postage stamp (1972)

This 10 cents commemorative postage stamp (= Scott Catalogue # 271) was issued by Hong Kong on 20 November 1972. It marks the 25th anniversary of the wedding of Britain's monarch, Queen Elizabeth the Second and Prince Philip.

Hong Kong 50 cents Hong Kong Boy Scouts 60th Anniversary postage stamp (1971) 1 by James St. John

Available under a Creative Commons by license

Hong Kong 50 cents Hong Kong Boy Scouts 60th Anniversary postage stamp (1971) 1

This 50 cents commemorative postage stamp (= Scott Catalogue # 263) was issued by Hong Kong on 23 July 1971. It marks the 60th anniversary of the Hong Kong Boy Scouts.

Hong Kong 50 cents Hong Kong Boy Scouts 60th Anniversary postage stamp (1971) 2 by James St. John

Available under a Creative Commons by license

Hong Kong 50 cents Hong Kong Boy Scouts 60th Anniversary postage stamp (1971) 2

This 50 cents commemorative postage stamp (= Scott Catalogue # 263) was issued by Hong Kong on 23 July 1971. It marks the 60th anniversary of the Hong Kong Boy Scouts.

Hong Kong 10 cents Hong Kong Boy Scouts 60th Anniversary postage stamp (1971) by James St. John

Available under a Creative Commons by license

Hong Kong 10 cents Hong Kong Boy Scouts 60th Anniversary postage stamp (1971)

This 10 cents commemorative postage stamp (= Scott Catalogue # 262) was issued by Hong Kong on 23 July 1971. It marks the 60th anniversary of the Hong Kong Boy Scouts.

Hong Kong 10 cents Lunar New Year postage stamp (1971) 1 by James St. John

Available under a Creative Commons by license

Hong Kong 10 cents Lunar New Year postage stamp (1971) 1

This 10 cents commemorative postage stamp (= Scott Catalogue # 260) was issued by Hong Kong on 20 January 1971. It marks the 1971 Lunar New Year ("Year of the Boar").

Hong Kong 10 cents Lunar New Year postage stamp (1971) 2 by James St. John

Available under a Creative Commons by license

Hong Kong 10 cents Lunar New Year postage stamp (1971) 2

This 10 cents commemorative postage stamp (= Scott Catalogue # 260) was issued by Hong Kong on 20 January 1971. It marks the 1971 Lunar New Year ("Year of the Boar").

Hong Kong 10 cents Asian Productivity Year postage stamp (1970) by James St. John

Available under a Creative Commons by license

Hong Kong 10 cents Asian Productivity Year postage stamp (1970)

This 10 cents commemorative postage stamp (= Scott Catalogue # 259) was issued by Hong Kong on 5 August 1970. It marks "Asian Productivity Year", which celebrated the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Asian Productivity Organization.