Chapter 2 The Earth

Our Solar System Center is the Sun 8 planets Earth is the 3rd away from the sun Jupiter is the biggest All the planets except for Mercury and Venus have moons Saturn has 18 moons Sun Jupiter MoonSaturn

Terrestrial Planets Planets that have solid, rocky crusts Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars Earth - only one with water on the surface and can support life Mercury Venus Mars

Gas Giant Planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune Larger than terrestrial planets More gaseous and less dense Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune

Asteroids, Comets, and Meteoroids Asteroids - small, irregularly shaped, planetlike objects. Found mainly between Mars and Jupiter Comets - made of icy dust and frozen gases Meteoroids - pieces of space debris (rock and iron). Usually burn before they reach earth Asteroid Comet Meteoroids

Pluto? a planet must: orbit the Sun, have sufficient mass to assume a nearly round shape, and have cleared the neighborhood around its orbit. Pluto does not meet the last requirement