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If you take a close look (and we have), the worlds of the solar system will surprise you. Did you know Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, has ice on its surface? It’s hidden at the bottom of craters near the poles that never see sunlight. solarsystem.nasa.gov/mercury 
Venus rotates “backwards.” From its surface, the Sun (if you could see it in the ever-cloudy sky) would rise in the west. And it would rise slowwwly. A day on Venus lasts about 243 Earth days. solarsystem.nasa.gov/venus
It doesn’t look like it, but the Moon DOES rotate. It just does so at the same rate it orbits around the Earth, so the same side always faces us. This is called being tidally locked, and it’s actually common among the moons of the solar system. solarsystem.nasa.gov/moon
Because the air is so thin on Mars, if you stood at the equator at noon it would feel like spring at your feet (about 75 degrees Fahrenheit or 24 degrees Celsius) and winter at your head (32 degrees Fahrenheit or 0 degrees Celsius). solarsystem.nasa.gov/mars
The largest object in the asteroid belt is not a lumpy rock, but a round world called Ceres. It has a tiny artificial “moon” — our Dawn spacecraft, which fell silent last year after a long, successful mission. solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/dwarf-…
Jupiter’s iconic Great Red Spot is a storm larger than the entire Earth that has been raging since at least the 1800s, and maybe much longer. In recent years it’s been shrinking. No one knows for sure why. solarsystem.nasa.gov/jupiter
The rings of Saturn are many thousands of miles wide — but less than one mile thick. From certain angles, you can see right through them. solarsystem.nasa.gov/saturn
The seventh planet was nearly named George. The astronomer who discovered it wanted to call it Georgium Sidus (George's Star), after the English king. But the name that eventually caught on was borrowed from a figure in Greek mythology, Uranus. solarsystem.nasa.gov/Uranus
Saturn isn’t the only planet with rings. One of Neptune’s rings features peculiar clumps of dust called arcs. Three of these arcs are named Liberté (Liberty), Egalité (Equality) and Fraternité (Fraternity). solarsystem.nasa.gov/neptune
Pluto rotates on its side, much like Uranus. For much of its year its north pole points toward the Sun. solarsystem.nasa.gov/pluto
There are many worlds in the dim reaches beyond Pluto. One example: Makemake, which orbits the Sun so slowly that its year is about 305 Earth years long. It doesn’t end there. We’ve found more than four THOUSAND planets so far in other star systems… See exoplanets.nasa.gov
