The Eight Planets (13.14)

The Inner Planets The four planets closest to the Sun are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. All four of these planets are made up of a rocky material and therefore are called the terrestrial planets. These planets are also known as the inner planets.

Mercury Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun; therefore, it gets sunlight that is 10 times brighter than the Earth’s. Mercury does not have an atmosphere to help trap the heat it receives from the Sun, so it loses all of its heat at night dropping to -180 degrees Celsius (oC). Mercury’s daytime temperature is a sweltering 400 (oC).

Mercury is rarely seen in our night sky because it is so close to the Sun. When we do see Mercury, it is generally at sunset and at sunrise.

Venus After the Sun and the Moon, Venus is the brightest object that we can see in the sky because it is so close to our planet Earth. Also, the atmosphere on Venus is very thick and the light it receives from the Sun is reflected to us. Venus’s atmosphere is made up from mainly carbon dioxide. This gas acts like the glass of a greenhouse and keeps the surface of the planet hot enough to melt lead.

Earth Life has grown on Earth because the atmosphere on this planet is perfect for beings to have changed. Earth’s atmosphere is mainly made up of nitrogen, oxygen, and water vapour. There is a small amount of ozone in our atmosphere and this is what filters some of the damaging radiation from the Sun. **Find current info. on the state of the ozone layer.

Water from lakes, oceans, and rivers covers approximately 70% of planet Earth. The rest of the Earth’s surface is covered by soil, which allows for the growth of vegetation and habitat for land creatures. Earth is changing every day because of several environmental factors such as volcanoes, earthquakes, and pollution.

Mars Mars is one of the brightest planets in the sky and is sometimes referred to as the “RED Planet” because of the reddish tinge it casts. This reddish colour is caused by the rust-coloured soil. Mars is very dry and barren, but there is evidence that Mars was once covered with volcanoes, glaciers and flood waters.

The Outer Planets The remaining 4 planets in our solar system are known as the outer planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune These 4 planets are also known as the Gas Giants. Their atmosphere consists mainly of hydrogen and helium. These planets have soupy surfaces and get more dense as you sink to the middle. It is not possible to land on these planets. Add to your notes information as to why Pluto is no longer considered a planet.

Jupiter Jupiter is the largest planet of all of the planets. Its diameter is 11 times larger than Earth’s diameter. Its mass is greater than the masses of all the other planets combined.

Jupiter is also a very bright object in the night sky because of its size and the large amount of light reflected by its clouds. Jupiter’s most interesting features are its coloured bands and the Great Red Spot. Jupiter has approximately 16 moons, and sometimes you can see four of these moons by using binoculars.

Saturn Saturn is the second-largest planet, but it is the least dense of all the planets, with a possibility of no core. Saturn’s atmosphere is cloudy and windy. Saturn’s average temperature is -180oC.

Uranus Uranus’s diameter is 4 times larger than Earth. Its atmosphere is made up primarily of hydrogen, with some helium and methane. This planet has winds that blow up to 500 km/h. In our night sky, Uranus looks like an extremely faint star.

Neptune From Earth, Neptune is barely visible with the use of a telescope. Neptune has bright blue and white clouds and a dark region – the Great Dark Spot – that appears to be the centre of a storm. Neptune has at least 8 moons and thin rings orbiting around it.

Pluto Pluto is an unusual planet because it is not a gas giant and it does not seem to be terrestrial. The motion of Pluto’s orbit suggests that Pluto may have been one of Neptune’s moons at one time. Pluto also has a moon called Charon.

Planetary Summary 0.38 none 0.95 CO2, N2 1 N2, O2 1 0.53 2 CO2, N2 11 Closest to the Sun Brown crater Chunks of rock 59 days To orbit Sun 0.38 none 2nd from the Sun Hot enough to melt lead A 1.7 KM high Volcano 0.95 CO2, N2 Volcanoes, hurricanes 3rd from the Sun 1 N2, O2 1 Soil and Water Reddish coloured soil Volcanoes, glaciers 4th from the Sun 0.53 2 CO2, N2 5th from the Sun Coloured Bands, Great Red Spot Winds, hurricanes 11 16 H2, He, CH4 6th from the Sun Surface temp. is About -180o Windy, cloudy 9.47 18 H2, He, CH4 500 km/h winds 7th from the Sun Polar hood over South pole 3.98 17 H2, He, CH4 8th from the Sun 3.81 8 Dark spot It’s blue. H2, He, CH4 none 0.18 1 Cold and rocky Rotates on side 9th from the Sun

Questions – p. 428: 1, 3, 9 Why are the four planets closest to the Sun called the “terrestrial planets”? The word terrestrial refers to Earth. Mercury, Mars, and Venus have several properties in common with Earth, so together the four planets are called the terrestrial planets Why is Jupiter easy to see in the night sky? Jupiter is very large, and its atmosphere reflects a lot of light from the light.

List the steps that were followed in discovering Neptune List the steps that were followed in discovering Neptune. How do these steps relate to the process of scientific discovery? Scientists observed that Uranus was a plant; then they discovered that its motion was not smooth. They made a hypothesis that another object was tugging on Uranus. They predicted where the other object was; then they tested their hypothesis and discovered Neptune. This process resembles scientific discovery: observing brings more questions followed by hypothesis, predicting, and testing.