1. The Wonders of Space

2. Goal
I will be able to distinguish among the inner planets according to their known characteristics such as appearance, location, composition and apparent motion

3. Materials needed
Science Journal
Pencil
Science Workbook

4. Journal Entry:
12/1 Space: Inner Planets

5. A look into the solar system:
Inner Planets
A look into the solar system:

6. What is in our Solar System?
The solar system includes the Sun and all the bodies that travel, or revolve, around it.

7. Orbiting Bodies
The Earth is one of eight planets, or large bodies that revolve around the Sun. Many plants, including Earth, have one or more moons. It is important to note that plantes cannot make their own light, they shine by reflecting the Sun’s light.

8. Why do we need the Sun? The Sun provides all planets their light.
The Sun’s gravity holds the other parts of the solar system in their orbits.

9. Smaller bodies
Smaller members of the solar system include dwarf planets, asteroids, comets, and meteoroids.

10. How did it all begin?
Scientists believe that the solar system is around 4.6 billion years old.
Scientists also believe that our solar system formed from a hot, spinning cloud of gas and dust.

11. How did it all begin?
Over time, gravity pulled the gases and the dust to the center of the cloud and this process caused the cloud to collapse.
The cloud continued to spin and this motion caused the temperature to rise. The high temperature caused a nuclear reaction which formed the sun.

12. What about the planets?
The air was cooler away from the Sun. Matter in this cooler part of the cloud began to come together and formed the planets and the moon.

13. The planets are not the same!
Planets closer to the Sun formed from heavy rock materials.
Further from the Sun the planets were able to hold on to some of the gases and formed larger planets called gasious giants.

14. Inner planets
The first four planets nearest to the sun are Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.
These planets are rocky and smaller than other planets.

15. Mercury Smallest of the inner planets Closest to the sun
Surface temperatures vary widely between day and night
Facing the sun it is extremely hot
Facing away from the sun it is extremely cold
Has many craters, some of these may contain frozen water.

16. Mercury

17. Venus Second planet from the Sun
Hidden below a thick layer of clouds made up of sulfuric acid
Temperatures are the surface are hot enough to melt lead
The pressure exerted by the atmosphere is bone crushing, about same as that found 1km beneath the ocean’s surface.

18. Venus

19. Earth Third planet from the Sun Only planet known to have liquid water
Earth’s atmosphere and oceans help keep its surface temperature within a range that could sustain life.

20. Earth

21. Mars
The red planet, smaller than Earth, has about the same amount of land area
Mars rovers (Spirit and Opportunity) have recently visited the surface of Mars and sent information back to Earth.

22. Mars
Shows signs of water erosion, indicating that it may have once have been more like Earth.
Surface is flat and rocky
Deep canyons and the highest volcanic mountain known in our solar system are found on Mars
Olympus Mons stands 24 km or 80,000 feet above the Martian surface.

23. Mars

24. Order of all Planets Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus
Neptune

25. Can you think of a pneumonic device?

26. Pneumonic
My very excited mother just served us noodles!

27. 12/2 Outer Planets:
Goal: I will be able to distinguish among the outer planets according to their known characteristics such as appearance, location, composition and apparent motion.

28. Materials needed
Science Journal
Pencil
Science Workbook

29. Outer Planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
These planets are larger than the inner planets, and their volume consists mostely of gases.

30. Jupiter One of the brightest objects in the night sky
takes about 10 hours to rotate on its axis
Famous for its Great Red Spot
In addition to its many moons, Jupiter also has rings.

31. Jupiter
The rings are made up of small particles that were produced by meteor collisions with Jupiter’s moons

32. Jupiter
Great Red Spot Storm

33. Saturn This planet is known for its rings
The rings are 250,000 km wide but only 1 km thick.
The rings consist mostly of ice particles
Saturn is the least dense of any planet
Least dense of any planet, if you put Saturn in water, it would float!
Saturn is as large as 95 Earths!

34. Saturn

35. Uranus Once called Herschel after the astronomer who discovered it.
Its axis is tilte so much that it is nearly parallel to the plane of its orbit.
Uranus is considered to be lying on its side.
Consists mostly of gases with a core of rock and ice.
Has at least 27 moons and a system of 11 rings

36. Uranus

37. Neptune
Has over 11 moons
Scientists predicted its existance based on observation of the motion of Uranus, but it was not discovered until 1846.
Considered a windy planet
Winds reach speeds of 2,700 km/hr (1,500 mph)

38. Neptune: Fun Fact
Neptune and its largest moon, Triton, are getting closer to each other. Within the next 100 million years they will probably collide.

39. Neptune
Cloud Surface

40. Pluto
In 2006 scientists met to form a new definition of planet. Pluto did not have a clear orbit, so it was classified as a dwarf planet.
Pluto is small, icy and rocky. It is very cold. Pluto has at least 3 moons

41. Pluto

42. Dwarf Planets Other dwarf planets include: Ceres Eris
Both of these asteroids now called dwarf planets orbit beyond Pluto

43. 12/3 Asteroids and Moons

44. Asteroids A relatively small, rocky object that orbits the Sun.
Most orbit in a band called the Asteroid belt (which is located between Mars and Jupiter)

45. Asteroids
Theory: Jupitor’s strong pull of gravity prevented them from forming a planet
Theory: asteroids are remnants of several planets that
collided and broke apart

46. Moons The moon is considered a natural satallite that orbits Earth.
All moons are held in their orbits by the gravitational attraction of their planets.
Some moons have atmospheres surrounding them
One moon actually has an active volcanoes and another has geysers!

47. 12/4 Comets and Meteors

48. Comets
A comet is a small, orbiting body made of dust, ice and frozen gases.
The solid center is called its nucleus
Comets orbit the Sun
When a comet approaches the Sun gas and dust are released: (Coma)

49. Comets
Some comets make one complete trip around the Sun in fewer than 200 years.
Halley’s comet: is a short period comet that orbits the Sun about once every 76 years.
It will appear again in 2061

50. Comets Long Period Comets: Some comets orbits extend beyond Pluto
As many as a trillion comets may exist in this region.
These comets take up to 30 million years to orbit the Sun
Hale-Bopp identified in 1995 takes nearly 2,500 years to orbit the Sun.

51. Meteors Have you ever seen a shooting star?
Shooting stars are actually meteors!
A meteor is a streak if light caused by a chunk of matter that enters Earth’s atmosphere and is heated by friction with the air.

52. Meteors These chunks of matter are called Meteoroids.
These meteoroids burn as they fall and appear as streaks of light against the night.

53. Meteors
Meteor Showers: can last a few hours or days. An average of 50 meteors can be seen an hour.
When the falling rocks hit the ground they are called meteorites. Most meteorites are believed to come from the asteroid belt.

54. Meteors
Impact Craters: These are formed when meteorites hit the ground. They are bowl shaped depressions
Barringer Crater is a famous one created in Arizona about 20, ,000 years ago.

55. 12/5 Solar System Display

56. Solar System Display
We will be creating a display of all of the planets.
Use your science notes to write two interesting facts about each planet.