Our Solar System

The Sun Our Solar System’s Star Current Age- 5 Billions years old Life Time Expectancy- 10 Billions years 99.8 % of our solar systems total mass. 108 Earth fit across the diameter

Mercury 1st Planet 58,000,000km Rotation 59 Earth days Revolution 88 Earth Days Solid, rocky, surface. -173C to 427C Very cratered Very thin atmosphere- Sodium and other Elements. No Moon Factoids: Very hard to get a good view, has an extreme temperature range.

Venus 2nd Planet 108,000,000km Rotation Period- 243 Earth Days Retrograde rotation- rotates east to west. Revolution Period- 225 Earth Days A solid, rocky, cratered surface with volcanoes. 460ºC hot enough to melt lead. Greenhouse effect- traps heat in the atmosphere, due to Carbon Dioxide. Very thick atmosphere, cloud covered. No Moon

Earth 3rd Planet 150,000,000 km Rotation 24 Earth hours Revolution 365.25 Earth Days Solid, rocky, surface, 71% liquid water -88°C to 58°C Atmosphere- nitrogen and oxygen One natural satellite - Moon Factoids: living beings and all that is needed to sustain life

Mars 4th Planet 228,000,000km Rotation 1.03 Earth Days Revolution- 687 Earth Days Solid, rocky, surface. (the red planet) -87°C to -5°C Once believed there were canals. Has ice caps (made of frozen carbon dioxide and water.) Has seasons. (dust storms) Very thin atmosphere- mostly carbon dioxide 2 Moons-Phobos and Deimos

Asteroid Belt Between Mars and Jupiter. Over 10,000 Too small and numerous to be planets. Ceres is a dwarf planet An asteroid might have made the dinosaurs extinct.

Jupiter 5th Planet 778,000,000km Rotation .41 Earth Days Revolution 12 Earth Years Gas giant, No Solid Surface - gravity keeps gases in 1.8987 x 1027 kg 300 times more massive than Earth solid core of rock and ice Very dense atmosphere- hydrogen and helium Great Red Spot (giant hurricane – fit 3 Earths) Moons: 62 (Io, Ganymede, Calisto, Europa)

Saturn 6th Planet 1,427,000,000km Rotation .43 Earth Days Revolution 29 Earth Years Gas giant, No Solid Surface 5.6851 x 1026 kg solid core of rock and ice less dense than water Very dense atmosphere- hydrogen and helium 1000’s of rings (made of rock and ice) Moons: 60 (Titan)

Uranus 7th Planet 2,871,000,000km Rotation .72 Earth Days Revolution 84 Earth Years Gas giant, No Solid Surface 8.6849 x 1025 kg solid core of rock and ice rotates on its side Very dense atmosphere- traces of methane Thin rings (made of rock and ice) Moons: 27

Neptune 8th Planet 4,479,000,000km (30 Earth’s) Rotation .67 Earth Days Revolution 165 Earth Years Gas giant (gravity keeps gases in) 1.0244 x 1026 kg solid core of rock and ice found by a mathematician Very dense atmosphere- traces of methane The Great Dark Spot (Didn’t last long) Thin rings (made of rock and ice) Moons: 13 (Triton)

Which of the following statements correctly describes the planets of our solar system? A. Saturn is the farthest planet from the sun. B. Mercury takes the shortest amount of time to revolve around the sun. C. Venus is the 5th planet from the sun. D. Mars takes less time to revolve around the sun than the Earth.

Which of the following statements correctly describes the Planets of our solar system? The outer planets have rocky surfaces with cores of gas. The rocky surface of Venus is covered with ice. The inner 4 planets have rocky surfaces while the outer planets are gaseous. Jupiter is the smallest of the Outer Planets.

Comet “Dirty snowballs” Spherical chunks of ice, rock and dust Tens of thousands of Kilometers across Very long and elliptical orbits Sun melts the ice into gas and forms a tail. Solar wind pushes tail away from the sun. Halley’s comet- Every 76 Years (2062)

Parts of a Comet 2.Nucleus- Central part of a comet. 3.Tail- gas and dust, pushed away from the sun due to solar wind. 1.Coma- gas and dust from the inner layer.

Asteroids & Meteoroids Asteroids and meteoroids are irregularly-shaped chunks of rock in space. Asteroids are usually around a kilometer in size. Meteoroids are smaller than asteroids. Meteoroids usually form from a comet or asteroid.

Meteor Meteors are small meteoroids enter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up entirely. Meteoroids burn due to the friction with the atmosphere. Meteors appear as a streak of light. Meteors are referred to as Shooting Stars.

Meteorites Meteoroids that are too big to burn up completely as the pass through the atmosphere. Meteorites survive entry and hit the Earth’s surface.

Celestial body # 1 is most likely which of the following? A. a star CHARACTERISTICS OF SOME CELESTIAL BODIES Celestial body # 1 is most likely which of the following? A. a star B. an asteroid C. a comet D. a planet Celestial Body Shape Diameter Composition 1 Spherical 12,000 Km Rock, Dust, & Ice 2 Irregular 1 Km Rock and Metal 3 1 Million Km Glowing Gas