1. My Solar System Project By: Chris Pengelly 8F / S4

2. The Structure of the Solar System

3. Our solar system is where Earth is. Earth orbits (revolves around) the sun. The sun is a colossal ball of burning gas that holds all the planets and meteor belts in place using gravity. The sun is by far the biggest thing in the solar system where the biggest planet (Jupiter) can fit into it 23 times! Our solar system is where the yellow writing and arrow is in the picture.  The solar system is in the Milky Way which is one of many galaxies. Galaxies are huge groups of stars and planetary systems that usually end up making a swirled circle shape, demonstrated in the picture to the right. Below are the order of planets and asteroid belts.

4. The Structure of the Solar System The motion of planets in the solar system is very important as it determines the length of days, nights and years for a planet. Earths moon provides the tides for planet Earth’s oceans. The length of one year for all the planets are as follows: Mercury: 88 Earth days, Venus: 225 Earth days, Earth: 365 Earth days, Mars: 687 Earth days, Jupiter: 11.86 Earth years, Saturn: 29.46 Earth years, Uranus 84 Earth years, Neptune: 154.8 Earth Years. All planets are on a horizontal orbit apart from Pluto. Pluto is on a 17 degree angled orbit but it has recently been classed as a dwarf planet (it is only the size of Wales !). Orbit styles shown below.

5. Days, nights, seasons, years and stars Earth rotates on its axis which mans that sometimes half of the Earth is facing away from the Sun and in darkness (Night time!) and the other half is facing towards the sun and are in sunlight (Day time!). Earth has a slight tilt on its axis which means that as the Earth orbits the sun during a year, days become longer than nights for half the year and nights become longer than days for the other half. On the subject of years, every 4 years the Earth has a leap year. Leap years have an extra day in February giving a total of 366 days. A leap year is every 4 years because Earth actually takes 365.25 days to orbit the sun. Every 4 years, those.25 days build up to make an extra one. You may also of heard about stars moving in the night sky. This isn’t true as stars don’t really move when we observe them. The motions are stationary just like the sun. The only reason they seem to move to the observer on Earth is that the Earth rotates. So when the part of the Earth facing the sun starts turning away, it looks like the stars are rising above the horizon.

6. Days, nights, seasons, years and stars The seasons are caused by the tilt of the Earth's axis away or toward the sun as it travels through along it’s orbit (the Earth has a tilt of 23.5 degrees). The tilt towards the sun is maximized during Northern Hemisphere summer at around June (the "summer solstice"). At this time, the amount of sunlight reaching the Northern Hemisphere is at its most. In late December, on the date of the "winter solstice", the Earth's tilt away from the sun is maximized, leading to a minimum of sunlight reaching the Northern Hemisphere. The seasons are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere, so people in Australia, for example, have hot sun on Christmas day! Interesting facts: The sun is actually closest to the Earth during Northern Hemisphere winter (not summer). Therefore the amount of sunlight averaged over the whole Earth is as much as 7% more intense in the winter than the summer. Despite this fact, the global-average surface temperature is warmer in Northern Hemisphere summer, due to the much greater expanse of land there, and since land heats to a higher temperature than the ocean does.

7. Moon Phases and Eclipses Moon phases can be quite confusing and are hard to explain in words, so for ease of viewing, these diagrams have been created to help you understand the different phases of the moon and the cycles it goes through. Diagram ADiagram B

8. Moon Phases and Eclipses A lunar eclipse and a solar eclipse refer to events involving the Sun (solar) and the moon (lunar). A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes between the Moon and the Sun, and the Earth's shadow obscures the moon or a portion of it. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, blocking all or a portion of the Sun. An eclipse can be total or partial. A total solar eclipse is when the moon blocks out the Sun entirely and a partial eclipse is when it blocks out a portion of the Sun. A lunar eclipse occurs at night and a solar eclipse occurs during the day. There are only certain times when either of them can occur. A lunar eclipse can only occur when the moon is directly opposite the Sun in the sky and it has to be a full moon. Even though there is a full moon each month, a lunar eclipse does not occur every month. This is because the Sun isn't exactly in line with the Earth and the moon. The moon's orbit is actually tilted 5 degrees more than that of the Earth; otherwise, we would see a lunar eclipse each month. A Solar Eclipse A Lunar Eclipse

9. Artificial and natural satellites A satellite is an object that orbits a larger object in space. For example, a natural satellite of the Earth is the moon. An artificial satellite of the earth (Or another planet) could be an electronic probe; put there by humans. The table below, that I created, shows the difference between natural satellites and artificial satellites with examples. Natural SatellitesArtificial Satellites (all to the Earth) The moon to the EarthThe Hubble Telescope Earth (or any other planet) to the sun Orbiting probes – Mobile phones, internet etc. Another planet’s moon to the planet itself The international space station An asteroid belt (to the sun)Space junk (from rockets etc.)