Our Solar System

The Solar System consists of eight planets and one dwarf planet…… Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune And Pluto

The outer solar system contains Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. In our solar system, eight planets circle around our Sun. The Sun sits in the middle while the planets travel in circular paths (called orbits) around it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8aBZZnv6y8 The solar system is made up of two parts the inner planets and the outer planets:       The inner solar system contains Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. These four planets are closest to the Sun.       The outer solar system contains Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.

Now get ready to write down on your guide to the planets worksheet all the characteristics of each planet Now get ready to list the characteristics of each planet on our planets worksheet……

Mercury Closest to the sun Smallest planet in the Solar System Very slow rotation period. 58 days to complete a rotation on its axis. Completes an orbit around the sun in 88 days It has no moons Mercury has the most extreme temperature variations of any other planet It has a solid surface covered with craters It has almost no atmosphere Evidence of ice on the protected shadows of craters near the North Pole

Venus Takes 225 days to orbit the sun It has no moons Second planet from the sun Its called the jewel of the sky or morning star because it is so bright It has thick clouds containing sulfuric acid which hides the rocky surface Atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide which traps heat Its called earth’s sister planet because they have nearly the same size and mass. Differs from every other planet in that it rotates east to west. Making it upside down. Its day is longer than its year. It takes 243 days to rotate on its axis.

Earth Third planet form the sun One moon Orbits the sun in 365 days. One Earth year Only planet in all the solar system to have liquid water on its surface Water covers 71% of the Earth’s surface Atmosphere is nitrogen and oxygen with trace amounts of other gases White clouds of water vapor hide much of the Earth’s surface Only planet home to living organisms Making Earth unique in the entire universe.

Mars Mars is called the Red Planet 4th planet from the sun Takes 687 days to orbit the sun It has 2 moons named Phobos and Deimos Bright orange and red form millions of years of iron oxidation or rust. Last inner planet Half the sixe of earth and totally barren Thin atmosphere Evidence of water at one time Deep scars on surface with enormous mountain peaks Capped at both ends with white ice

Jupiter 5th planet from the sun First of the outer planets Known as the gas giant It takes 4330 days to orbit the sun. That’s 11.86 Earth years. Red, brown and orange gases form bands and swirl around its atmosphere Faint rings of ice encircle the planet 63 moons 4 of those are the size of planets Great red spot on the surface. It is a huge storm of swirling gas that has been going of hundreds of years 3 Earth’s would fit into the great red spot.

Saturn Takes 29.46 years to orbit the sun (10,750 days) 62 moons ranging in size from tiny to gigantic Largest moon named Titan 6th planet from the sun Large, bright gas giant surrounded by thousands of delicate glistening rings Distinct feature is the thousands of rings that orbit the planet. They are made up mainly of ice and icy covered rocky particles Saturn is less dense than water. If you could fit it in a bathtub it would float

Uranus 7th planet from the sun 84 years to orbit the sun (30,660 days) 27 moons Ice giant Thick blue green gas. The atmosphere is from methane gas Featureless giant sphere Surrounded by a thin faint layer of small delicate rings Unusual weather patterns creating season like no other planet Unique feature is that Uranus is tilted on its side unlike any other planet. Its axis is tilted so far that it looks like a top spinning on its side.

Neptune 8th planet from the sun Giant blue world Takes 164.8 years to orbit the sun (60,150 days) Wispy white clouds and dark blue spots Few tiny rings encircle the plant 13 moons Largest moon called Triton is the size of Earth’s moon The rings a very thin and dark composed of ice and a dark material There a 5 distinct rings Giant dark blue spots are thought to be dark clouds Holes in the upper atmosphere allow clouds to show through

Pluto Pluto was classified as a dwarf planet in 2006 It takes 247.7 years to orbit the sun (90,400 days) 5 moons the largest moon is named Charon Composition and atmosphere are unknown Likely its made up of rock, ice and frozen gases Atmosphere likely is nitrogen with a little carbon monoxide and methane Pluto’s orbit is more inclined and elliptical than all the other 8 planets

Now lets review what we've learned……