What differences and similarities are there between the 8 major planets of our solar system?

Answer 1

Similarities between all 8 major planets

1. all orbit the sun
2. all are in hydrostatic equilibrium (generally sphere-shaped)
3. all have cleared their neighborhoods of debris (their paths around the sun contain no other large objects, other than the planet's own moons).

Differences

All 8 planets have their unique features, and there are too many to list. Here is a list of a single unique characteristic of each planet:

1. Mercury - smallest major planet in our solar system
   
2. Venus - hottest major planet
   
3. Earth - only major planet with life as far as we know; only planet covered mostly with water
   
4. Mars - only planet with a thin atmosphere composed primarily of carbon dioxide
   
5. Jupiter - largest planet
   
6. Saturn - least dense planet
   
7. Uranus - tilted so far that it essentially orbits the sun on its side, with its pole pointing at the sun
   
8. Neptune - the only major planet that was NOT known to ancient people.
   

Answer 2

The major planets in our solar system can be divided into two groups: the inner rocky planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) and the outer gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune). The inner planets are closer to the Sun, have solid surfaces, and are smaller in size compared to the outer gas giants, which are predominantly composed of hydrogen and helium and have larger sizes and lower densities. All eight planets orbit the Sun in the same direction and lie roughly in the same plane known as the ecliptic.