Portrait of the Planets

It is not easy to capture the eight planets of the solar system in one image. The four outer planets, the gas giants, are many times bigger than the four rocky inner planets.

This family portrait shows all eight of them at the right scale and with the correct inclination of their axis.

Of the four gas giants is only a small part visible; only the curvature of their horizon gives an indication of their huge size. Top left we see Uranus, Saturn is on the lower left, on the lower right is Neptune and on the upper right is the largest of the bunch: Jupiter.

Of the inner planets, there are two almost equally large: Venus (top left) and our own Earth (bottom right). Mars, bottom left, is only half the size and Mercury, top right, is the smallest of the eight.

The picture also shows some of the major landmarks of our solar system: the rings of Saturn and Uranus, Valles Marineris (the Grand Canyon of Mars) and the Red Spot of Jupiter (which is big enough to swallow the Earth in one piece)

On planet Earth, especially South America, the Sahara and the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica stand out. North America and Western Europe can also be spotted with some effort.

Not in this picture: the Sun. which is much bigger and is illuminating the scene from the left.

Not in the picture either: the many moons of the planets, some of which are as big as Mercury, as well as the dwarf planets, including Pluto.