Our Solar System
Journal
• Can you name the 8 planets in our Solar System?
• The 8 planets in our solar system are:
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus, Neptune
Do you know any ways to remember
all 8?
• My Very Excellent Mother Just
Sold Us Nuggets!
•
Galaxies
Our sun is 1 example of stars in the universe. Stars are found in groups held together by gravity.
• A huge group of stars is called a galaxy.
• Our entire universe is made up of thousands of galaxies.
• The images below show you how small we are compared to the entire universe.
UNIVERSE GALAXY SOLAR SYSTEM
The entire universe is made A huge group of stars held A system of planets & stars that
of thousands of galaxies together by gravity. are found throughout galaxies
The Milky Way
• Our Solar System is part of the “Milky Way” galaxy.
The Inner Planets
(Terrestrial Planets)
Mercury
• On Mercury you weigh only
38% of what you weigh on
Earth.
• Fastest orbiting planet
• Planet nearest to the sun
• One side of the planet can be 800
degrees Fahrenheit when the
other can be -280 degree
Fahrenheit at the same time.
Venus
• On Venus you weigh only 91% of what you
weigh on Earth.
• Venus has 90 times the pressure of Earth
• Venus has volcanoes like Earth
• Rotates in the opposite direction of Earth.
• One time there were oceans before they
boiled away.
Earth
• 24 hours = 1 Earth day (rotation)
• 365 days =1 Earth year (revolution)
• Earth is warm enough to keep most of its
water from freezing and cold enough to
keep it’s water from boiling
• Temperature is between –13 degrees
Celsius and 37 degrees Celsius
Mars
• Air Pressure on Mars is the same as 30 km
above the Earth’s surface
• Mars is in the form of ice.
• Evidence that water was there at one time
• Volcanic history like Earth.
• It has the tallest mount of the planets
(Olympus Mons) 3x’s size of Mt. Everest.
Outer Planets
(Gas Planets or Jovial Planets)
Jupiter
• Largest planet in the Solar System
• Has a Great Red Spot from a storm system
that is more than 400 years old (It is larger
than Earth!)
• 9 hours and 54 min=1 Jupiter day (shortest
day)
• Pressure is so great it would crush a
spaceship.
Saturn
• 2nd Largest planet in the Solar System
• 95 times more massive than earth.
• Saturn has the largest rings of any
planet, the rings are made of icy
particles.
• Most moons of any planet.
Uranus
• Discovered in 1781
• Uranus appears blue-green in color
• It’s axis of rotation is tilted 90 degrees
• Moons are named after Shakespearean
plays and formed from other broken
moons.
Neptune
• Discovered in 1846
• Neptune has visual belts of clouds
• Interior releases thermal energy to its
outer layers.
• Use to be the 8th planet after Pluto
until 1999.
What Keeps Our Planets & Other
Objects In Space In Orbit??
GRAVITY
GRAVITY
• Gravity – A force that pulls all objects toward
each other.
• Suns Gravitational force – is what holds the
planets in orbit around the sun and what keeps
the moon in orbit around Earth.
• The gravitational pull of the moon pulls the
seas towards it, causing the ocean tides.
Other Space Objects
Dwarf Planet
Comets
Asteroids
Meteroids
Moon
What is
is aa Dwarf
Dwarf Planet?
Planet?
• Celestial
Celestial body
body orbiting
orbiting the
the Sun
Sun
• Massive
Massive enough
enough to to be
be rounded
rounded byby its
its
own
own gravity
gravity
• BUT
BUT has
has NOT
NOT cleared
cleared its
its neighboring
neighboring
region
region ofof planetesimals
planetesimals
• Is
Is not
not aa satellite
satellite
A plutoid is a dwarf planet beyond the
orbit of Neptune
19
Only
Only 55 Dwarf
Dwarf Planets
Planets recognized
recognized so
so far
far
but
but there
there may
may be
be more
more than
than 200
200
Pluto, approximate Makemake,
true color (Artist’s conception)
Ceres, seen through Eris, seen through
(Hubble telescope) (Hubble telescope)
20
What is a comet?
• A comet is a small
body made out of
dust, rock, gas &
ice.
• They are kind of
like a dirty
snowball
• Comets come
from faraway
What is an asteroid?
• Asteroids are
large pieces of
space rock with
irregular
shapes.
• They are also
known as
planetoids or
minor planets
that revolve
• Most asteroids orbit the Sun in the
asteroid belt located between
Mars and Jupiter. A few asteroids
approach the Sun more closely.
• Asteroids can collide with object
such as Earth’s moon, creating
huge craters on the surface.
3 to 6
METEOROIDS
METEORS &
METEORITES
• Meteoroids are
pieces of rock or
dust that are
smaller than
asteroids.
• Meteoroids are tiny
particles left by an
asteroid or a comet
& most meteoroids
are smaller than
• When small meteoroids enters
Earth’s atmosphere, they usually
burn up & make a fiery trail as it
falls, it is then called a meteor or a
“shooting star”
• Meteors that land on Earth are called meteorites.
MOONS
•The Moon is Earth’s only natural
satellite and the fifth largest moon
in the solar system.
•The Moon’s presence helps
stabilize our planet’s wobble and
moderate our climate.
•The Moon’s distance from Earth is
about 240,000 miles (385,000km).
Our Solar System
