Our Solar System

Solar System The region of space that falls within the gravitational influence of the Sun Consists of: –yellow star, Planets, Dwarf planets, Moons, Asteroids, Meteoroids, Comets

Components of the Solar System Star = ball of gas undergoing nuclear reactions Major planet = spherical celestial body that revolves around a star Dwarf Planet = spherical celestial body revolving around the sun that is not large enough to gravitationally clear its orbital region Moon = spherical celestial body that revolves around a planet or dwarf planet Asteroid = small body (775km - 1.6km) that revolves around the sun. most between Mars and Jupiter. Meteoroid = generally smaller than asteroids Comet = small icy body with a highly eccentric orbit. heats up as it approaches the sun and forms tails.

Sizes (Diameters) Sun = 1.4 million km Mercury = 4872 km Venus= km Earth = km Mars = 6780 km Jupiter = km Saturn = km Uranus = km Neptune = km

Distances from the Sun Mercury = 57.9 million km Venus = million km Earth = million km = 1 AU Mars = million km Jupiter = million km Saturn = 1.4 billion km Uranus = 2.4 billion km Neptune = 4.5 billion km

Classification of Planets

Terrestrial vs. Jovian Designation based on composition Terrestrial or rocky planets: primarily rock and metal and have relatively high densities, slow rotation, solid surfaces, no rings and few satellites. Jovian or gas planets: primarily hydrogen and helium and generally have low densities, rapid rotation, deep atmospheres, rings and lots of satellites.

Inner vs. Outer The asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter forms the boundary between the inner solar system and the outer solar system.

Inferior vs. Superior Position relative to Earth Inferior planets: closer to the Sun than Earth. Superior planets: farther from the Sun than Earth.

Classical vs. Modern Classical planets: are visible to the naked eye Modern planets: not visible to the naked eye, and have been discovered in modern times

Bode’s Law Predicted planetary distances in our solar system in Helped predict Ceres and Uranus Not perfect…

Planet k T-B rule distance (AU) Real distance (AU) % error (using real distance as the accepted value) Mercury % Venus % Earth % Mars % Ceres Ceres % Jupiter % Saturn % Uranus % Neptune % Pluto Pluto %

Read more about An Overview of the Solar System, it's alignment and pictures by nineplanets.orgAn Overview of the Solar System, it's alignment and picturesnineplanets.org