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Eight planets revolve around the Sun. They are shown here in order of their distance from the Sun, beginning with Mercury and ending with Neptune. They vary greatly in size, mass, temperature, rate of rotation, and composition. Mercury is small, rocky, and hot, because it is at a mean distance of 58 million km (36 million mi) from the Sun. Venus rotates relatively slowly, and in a retrograde direction (the opposite of its revolution around the Sun), so that one daylight period on the planet equals 58 Earth days. Mars is characterized by orange coloration and distinct polar ice caps. Jupiter is the largest planet in the system, with a volume 1,400 times greater than that of the Earth. Saturn has a broad set of rings. Methane in the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune makes these planets a bright blue-green. Being the farthest planet from the Sun, Neptune has the longest period of revolution: 164.79 years.