2.  4 planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, & Mars.  Solid surfaces  Similar in size  All quite close to the sun and closer to each other compared to the Outer Planets.

3.  Closest to the sun  Smallest  Surface has craters and cliffs, similar to Earth’s moon  No atmosphere  Extreme temperatures 425 ⁰ C - -179 ⁰ C  No moons  Revolution around the Sun takes 88 earth days  Rotation takes 59 Earth days to complete one turn.

4.  Similar to Earth in size and mass  Thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide  Droplets of sulfuric acid gives it a yellow color. If it rain there it would be an “acid rain”  Surface has craters, cracks, and volcanoes  Greenhouse effect cause hot temps of 475 ⁰ C making it the hottest planet  No moons  Rotation is clockwise & takes 243 Earth days  Revolution is 225 Earth days  Sometimes referred to as “Earth’s Twin”

5.  Sustains life  Surface temps allow water to exist as solid, liquid, & gas  Has one moon  Rotation is 24 hours  Revolution is 365 1/4 days

6.  Red surface because of iron oxide in soil  Ice caps made of frozen water and CO2  Large volcanoes and valleys indicating flow of water at one time  Thin atmosphere of CO ₂  Temps range from -125 ⁰ C to 35 ⁰ C  2 small moons  Revolution is 687 Earth days  Rotation is 24 hrs. & 37 minutes  Sometimes referred to as “The Red Planet”

7.  Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, & Neptune  All made of gases  All have large number of moons orbiting them  All thought to also have rings, but Saturn having the most visible.

8.  Mostly made of hydrogen and helium  Largest of the 8 planets with a Band of Rings and the Great Red Spot.  The Great Red Spot is a strong storm  63 known moons: Io is the most volcanically active object in the solar system. Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system.  Rotation is 9 hrs. & 55 min.  Revolution is 12 Earth years.

9.  Made mostly of hydrogen and helium  Density is so low that it would float on water  Famous for Great Rings that are made of rock and ice particles. Size ranges from microscopic to house size.  47 known moons. Titian being the largest and similar to earths atmosphere.  Rotation: 10 hrs. & 39 min.  Revolution: 29.5 Earth yrs.

10.  Composed of hydrogen, helium, and methane  Methane gives it it’s bluish green color  Tipped on it’s side, possible from a collision with a larger object similar to Earth in size  27 known moons  Rotation: 16 hrs. & 7 minutes  Revolution: 84 years

11.  Twin of Uranus  Made of hydrogen, helium, and methane  Methane gives it it’s bluish-green color  Very active atmosphere with strong winds.  Great Dark Spot (storm): appears and disappears  13 known moons: Triton ( Little Mermaid)  Rotation: 16 hrs. 7 min  Revolution: 165 years

12.  Renamed in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union  Shared many characteristics as Ceres and Eris  Once Eris was discovered they decided to redefine the meaning of planets.

15.  A small rocky body that revolves around the sun.  Usually burn up before striking the ground  Lots of meteors that burn at one time are called “Meteor Showers”

16.  A meteor that doesn’t burn up and hits the surface of Earth or any other object becomes a Meteorite.  Probably pieces of an Asteroid  Craters are left on the surface after the impact Arizona

17.  Asteroids are rocky and metallic objects that orbit the Sun but are too small to be considered planets.  Asteroid Belt is located between Mars and Jupiter