The Inner and Outer Planets

The Inner Planets are Terrestrial Terrestrial Planets with rocky surfaces High temperatures Closer to the Sun Closer to each other Terrestrial planets share features: tectonics volcanism weathering and erosion impact catering

Mercury Closest to the Sun Only 88 days to orbit Bombarded with impact craters Temperature extremes 800 F during day, -280 F at night Basically no atmosphere Your weight: If you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, you would weigh 38 pounds on Mercury.

Venus Thick atmosphere of CO2 and Sulfuric acid Your weight: If you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, you would weigh 88 pounds on Venus. Sulfur Dioxide rain (acid rain) Active volcanoes Longer day than year Spins opposite than other planets (Retrograde Motion) Over 870 F all the time

Earth Home sweet home Only planet with sustained life Hydrosphere (water) Atmosphere made up of N, O, CO2 Comfortable temps

Mars Frozen polar CO2 caps Smaller than Earth Slightly longer day and year Very cold (60 F to -130 F) Largest mountain in solar system Olympus Mons Thin atmosphere of CO2 Air pressure 1% that of Earth Rust gives Mars it’s color (iron and oxygen reaction) Your weight: If you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, you would weigh 38 pounds on Mars.

Asteroid Belt Separates the inner and outer planets Possibly an annihilated planet Most asteroids hang out here

Outer Planets are Gas giants No solid surface, just thick atmosphere All very large Very far apart from each other All have rings

Jupiter Could hold 1300 Earths Almost big enough to be a star Temperature is -234 F on average 12 Earth years = 1 Jovian year 1 Jovian day = 10 Earth Hours Jupiter’s enormous gravitational pull allows it to have 63 moons! Weight: If you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, you would weigh 265 pounds on Jupiter. Huge storms Great red spot “hurricane” larger than Earth Jupiter

Saturn 30 years to orbit Rotates in 11 hours Large rings made of ice and dust Extremely low density Saturn's density is lighter than water (0.7) which means if you had a body of water big enough to hold it, it would float!  Your weight: If you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, you would weigh 107 pounds on Saturn.

Uranus Blue in color due to methane gas 84 years to orbit It is the only planet to rotate on its side. Scientists are unsure why it rotates that way It has approximately 20 years of daytime and 20 years of nighttime because one pole faces the sun for a couple of decades and then the other for a couple. Temperature -353 F average Uranus

Neptune Methane atmosphere 164 years to orbit -250c temps 30 times farther from the sun than Earth Neptune’s winds are the fastest of any planets in the Solar System and can reach more than 1,200 miles per hour

Pluto- I am a dwarf planet.