3. The Sun is our closest star. Is a member of the Milky Way galaxy. Is a medium size star and it’s a class G2. It is believed to be about 4.6 billion years old. (The age of an average star is about 5 billion years old.). The diameter of the Sun is 1,392,000 kilometers. Temperature ranges from 5800 degrees Celsius (C) to over 15,600,000 degrees C its core. The Sun

4. In the Sun's core, hydrogen is fused to form helium in a process called fusion. The sun is composed of gas: 75% hydrogen, 25% helium, and 0.1% metals. The Sun

5. On the Sun's surface, we can see storms. We call these storms "sunspots" because they look like dark spots on the Sun's surface. The Sun also produces big explosions of energy called solar flares. These flares shoot fast moving particles off the Sun's surface. These particles can hit the Earth's atmosphere and cause a glow called an aurora. The Sun

6. Some people from long ago thought of the Sun as a god. They did not want the god to be angry with them. To keep the Sun happy, they offered it gifts such as gold and food. The Sun

7. Neptune Jupiter Uranus Mars Mercury Earth Saturn Venus The Eight Planets

8. 1 st planet from the sun 3.2 Light minutes from the sun. Has a diameter of 4,879 km Solid planet – composed of iron and silica. Mercury – Closest to the Sun

9. No satellites / no rings. Temperature ranges from –173 degrees C to 15,600,000 degrees C. Very thin atmosphere. Origin of Name: Mercury, the god of thievery. Fact: The temperature on Mercury gets so hot it could melt a tin pan. Mercury

10. Venus- Earth’s Twin 2 nd planet from the sun 6.0 Light minutes from the sun. Has a diameter of 12,104 km Solid planet – basically the same as Earth.

11. Venus No satellites / no rings. Temperature is 464 degrees C. Atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide. Origin of Name: Venus, the goddess of love. Fact: Venus is called the Evening Star. It is called this because it looks so bright to us from Earth.

12. Earth- The Water Planet 3 rd planet from the sun 8.3 Light minutes from the sun. Has a diameter of 12,756 km Solid planet – iron, oxygen, silicon, and magnesium.

13. Earth 1 satellite / No rings. Temperature ranges from –13 degrees C to 37 degrees C. Atmosphere is 77% nitrogen and 21% oxygen. Origin of Name: Earth, Old English. Fact: Seventy percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water. The remaining 30 percent is covered by mountains, volcanoes, deserts, plains, and valleys.

14. Mars- The Red Planet 4 th planet from the sun 12.7 Light minutes from the sun. Has a diameter of 6,794 km Solid planet – sulfur and iron

15. Mars 2 satellites / No rings. Temperature ranges from –123 degrees C to 37 degrees C. Atmosphere is 95.3% carbon dioxide and 27% nitrogen. Origin of Name: Mars, god of war. Fact: Some of the meteorites found on Earth are actually pieces of the planet Mars. As of June 2006, thirty-four "Martian meteorites" have been found.

16. Jupiter- The Largest Planet 5 th planet from the sun 43.3 Light minutes from the sun. Has a diameter of 142,984 km Gas planet – hydrogen, helium, and ammonia

17. Jupiter 16 satellites / 3 rings. Temperature is -153 degrees C. Atmosphere is 90% hydrogen and 10% helium. Origin of Name: Jupiter, King of Gods. Fact: Jupiter is so large that all of the other planets in the solar system could fit inside of it.

18. Click here to learn more about Saturn. Saturn- The Ringed Planet 6 th planet from the sun 1.3 Light hours from the sun. Has a diameter of 120,536 km Gas planet –

19. Saturn 18 satellites / 14 rings. Temperature is -185 degrees C. Atmosphere is 75% hydrogen and 25% helium. Origin of Name: Saturn, Roman god of agriculture. Fact: Saturn has the lowest density of any planet in our solar system. Its density is so low that it would float if it was placed in water.

20. Click here to learn more about Uranus. Uranus- Neptune’s Twin 7th planet from the sun 2.7 Light hours from the sun. Has a diameter of 51,118 km Gas planet –

21. Uranus 21 satellites / 11 rings. Temperature is -214 degrees C. Atmosphere is 83% hydrogen, 15% helium, and 2% methane. Origin of Name: Uranus, Greek god of the heavens. Fact: Uranus is one of the smaller gas giants in our solar system, but it is still large enough to hold 64 planets the size of Earth.

22. Click here to learn more about Neptune. Neptune – The Blue Planet 8th planet from the sun 4.2 Light hours from the sun. Has a diameter of 49,528 km Gas planet –

23. Neptune 8 satellites / 4 rings. Temperature is -225 degrees C. Atmosphere is 15% hydrogen, helium and methane. Origin of Name: Neptune, Roman god of the sea. Fact: It is so cold on Neptune that you would need skin thicker than a polar bear's to stay warm.

24. Moon A moon is a natural satellite of a planet. The Earth’s moon is called Luna. Earth has only 1 moon. Jupiter has about 60.

25. Composition: Solid Orbit / Location: 384,400 km from Earth Position in Space: Orbits the Earth How are they classified? Terrestrial “planet” due to its size and composition. Interesting Facts: The gravity between the Earth and the Moon cause the tides. The moon has no atmosphere. Earth’s Moon

26. Comets A comet is a small body of ice, rock and cosmic dust loosely packed together. It is made up of a nucleus, with a cloud that surrounds it and a tail.

27. Comets Composition: Solid – frozen water, gases, and dust. Orbit / Location: Eccentric; takes them far beyond the orbit of Pluto. Position in Space: Orbits the Sun How are they classified? By their orbital period. Interesting Facts: May travel out of the solar system for hundreds of years. Sometimes called “dirty snowballs”.

28. Asteroids Composition: Solid Orbit / Location: Usually orbit the sun in specific places but a few have planet-crossing orbits. Position in Space:The Asteroid Belt is a region between the inner planets and outer planet where thousands of asteroids are found orbiting around the Sun.

29. How are they classified? Number of types according to their spectra (chemical composition), albedo (The albedo of an object is the extent to which it reflects light from the sun), and their position in the solar system. Interesting Facts: January 1801 – first object observed that would be classified as an asteroid. Asteroids

30. Asteroid Belt More than 7000 asteroids have been discovered. Several hundred more are discovered each year. There are undoubtedly hundreds of thousands more that are too small to be seen from the Earth. The “Main Belt” is between Mars and Jupiter.

31. Meteors Composition: Solid. Orbit / Location: Irregular due to them being bits of material loose in space. Position in Space: Asteroid material until they enter Earth’s atmosphere. How are they classified? According to whether they enter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up or strike the Earth’s surface. Interesting Facts: Most burn up on entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. These are what we call shooting stars.

32. Meteorites Composition: Solid. Orbit / Location: Irregular due to them being bits of material loose in space. Position in Space: Asteroid material until they enter Earth’s atmosphere. How are they classified? According to whether they enter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up or strike the Earth’s surface. Interesting Fact: When a meteoroid hits the ground, it’s called a meteorite.

33. The Solar System