Uranus 7th Planet from the Sun 3rd Largest (H, He, ammonia, methane) Appears blue due to the absorption of red light by methane in the upper atmosphere Has a nearly horizontal axis of rotation Moons are named after characters from Pope and Shakespeare The planets strange orbit helped astronomers find Neptune

Neptune 8th Planet from the Sun 4th Largest Planet (H, He, ammonia, methane) Orbit crosses with Pluto for 17 years, so it was the 9th planet during those times Very dark ring system Appears blue due to the absorption of red light by methane in the atmosphere Fastest winds of any planet in the solar system (~ 2000 km/hr) Great Dark Spot – cyclonic storm like the GRS (disappeared in the early 1990’s)

Pluto No longer considered a planet (dwarf planetoid) It’s odd orbit and lack of gravitational pull are the reasons it was demoted Discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930 Major moon, Charon, discovered in 1978 Two smaller moons, Hydra and Nix, discovered in 2005 Large orbit which crosses that of Neptune for about 20 years (so it would have been the 8th planet for a while) Once thought to be an object called Planet X, but once discovered, it was too small to affect Neptune’s orbit Surface is mainly ices and rock. No atmosphere (thin layer of gases when ice sublimes) Charon is only slightly smaller than Pluto (would be considered a double planet if it were a planet at all)

Asteroid Belt Area of space between Mars and Jupiter filled with rocky debris. They are large irregularly shaped rocks. Orbit the Sun just like the planets. Some of the asteroid orbits bring a few very close to Earth. Thought to be the remains of a planet that could not pull itself together.

Comets Parts of a comet:

Comets They spend most of their time beyond Pluto in what is known as the Kuiper Belt or the Cometary Halo. Most comets have very large orbits (the most frequent is Enkes Comet – 3.3. years)

The Most Famous Comet - Halley’s Comet

Comets The Nucleus is made of: Minerals, Metals and Ice The coma and the tail are gases and vapors escaping from the nucleus due to the heat of the Sun.

The Comet’s Tail The tail of the comet always faces away from the Sun (“blown” by the Solar Winds)

Eclipses Eclipses consist of two parts: Umbra – complete shadow (area where light is completely blocked) Penumbra – partial shadow (areas where only part of the light is blocked)

Lunar Eclipse Occurs when the Moon passes into the Earth’s Umbra

Solar Eclipse