The Solar System

What is the Solar System? The solar system is our Sun and everything that travels around it. The Sun is the center of the solar system. The solar system is always in motion. Consists of eight planets— Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupitar, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Also includes the Moon, the Asteroid Belt, comets, and constellations.

The Sun The Sun is a star located in the center of our solar system The eight planets, asteroids, comets, and other space objects orbit the sun The Sun is the biggest object in our solar system Our closest star The center of the Sun is known as the Core (which reaches around 13,600,000 degrees Celsius!)

The Solar System in Motion

The Planets Mercury Facts: A small planet, that orbits closer to the Sun than any other planet. The surface of Mercury is very similar to our moon. Being so close to the Sun, the daytime temperature on Mercury reaches over 400 Degrees Celsius!

The Planets Venus Facts: Atmosphere is made up of Carbon Dioxide Similar in size to Earth Venus is surrounded by clouds which create the most corrosive acid rain found anywhere in our solar system The hottest planet reaching around 500 Degrees Celsius The surface of Venus is often described as a “stormy desert” full of many craters and very active volcanoes

The Planets Mars Facts: Also known as “The Red Planet” Surface is covered in a red-like dust Experiences violent dust storms which constantly change its surface Has many massive volcanoes Atmosphere is made up of Carbon Dioxide

The Planets Jupiter Facts: The largest planet in our solar system (could fit 1,300 Earth’s inside it!) Thick, colorful clouds of deadly poisonous gases surround Jupiter Center of Jupiter is a rocky core, surrounded by an ocean of liquid hydrogen Contains a massive hurricane on its surface known as “The Big Red Spot”

The Planets Saturn Facts: The second largest planet in our solar system Surrounded by a system of rings that are made up of millions of ice crystals Saturn is very light, made up of more hydrogen than helium Has storm winds that race up to 800 kmp/h Has a very strong magnetic field which results in high levels of radiation

The Planets Uranus Facts: Uranus spins lying on its side First planet discovered by telescope Takes 84 Earth years to go around the Sun Atmosphere is mostly hydrogen, but contains large amounts of gas called methane Scientists guess that under the hydrogen-methane atmosphere is a hot, slushy ocean of water, ammonia and methane that goes thousands of miles deep wrapped around a rocky core

The Planets Neptune Facts: A large planet, nearly four times the size of Earth Neptune suffers the most violent weather in our solar system Storms have been spotted swirling around its surface and freezing winds that blow about ten times faster than hurricanes on Earth make it the windiest planet Neptune is a large, water planet with a blue hydrogen-methane atmosphere and faint rings

The Moon The Moon is the Earth’s only natural satellite Orbits Earth every 27.3 days The Moon is very hot during the day but very cold at night. The average surface temperature of the Moon is 107 degrees Celsius during the day and— 153 degrees Celsius at night The Earth’s tides are largely caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon The phases of the Moon are: New Moon, Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter, Crescent, New Moon….

The Asteroid Belt The asteroid belt lies roughly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter in the Solar System. It is home to a large amount of irregular shaped asteroids that range in size Asteroids are also known as planetoids or minor planets Asteroids are similar to comets but do not have a visible coma (fuzzy outline and tail) like comets do

Comets A comet is a relatively small solar system body that orbits the Sun; When close enough to the Sun they display a visible coma (a fuzzy outline or atmosphere due to solar radiation) and sometimes a tail Comets are made of ice, dust and small rocky particles Halley’s Comet (or Comet Halley as it is also known) is the most well known comet

Sources http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/planets.html