Classical planet Classical planet In classical antiquity, the seven classical planets were the seven non-fixed astronomical objects in the sky visible to the naked eye: Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Mercury, the Sun, and the Moon. The word "planet" comes from two related Greek words, πλάνης "planēs" (whence πλάνητες ἀστέρες "planētes asteres" "wandering stars, planets") and πλανήτης "planētēs", both with the original meaning of "wanderer", expressing the fact that these objects move across the celestial sphere relative to the fixed stars. The term "planet" in modern terminology is only applied to natural satellites directly orbiting the Sun, so that of the seven classical
Mission: Earth, Voyage to the Home Planet Mission: Earth, Voyage to the Home Planet Mission: Earth, Voyage to the Home Planet is a children's literature book by science writer June A. English and astronaut Thomas David Jones that was published in 1996 by Scholastic. Jones was among the crew members of the Space Shuttle "Endeavour" during an eleven-day mission in space, which was launched in April 1994 to study the ecological well-being of Earth using specialized radar technology. The book, which is illustrated with radar images and picturesque photographs, chronicles the mission and Jones' experiences of it. "Mission: Earth, Voyage to the Home Planet" received a generally