THE SOLAR SYSTEM

PLANET ORDER

• My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nachos.

• My = Mercury

• Very = Venus

• Excellent = Earth

• Mother = Mars

• Just = Jupiter

• Served = Saturn

• Us = Uranus

• Nachos = Neptune

• The distance from Earth is the reason we cannot see all the planets.

• The further away something is, the smaller it appears in size.

Mercury, Venus, Earth, & Mars

INNER PLANETS, ROCKY PLANETS, TERRESTRIAL PLANETS

INNER, ROCKY, TERRESTRIAL PLANETS

• 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.

MERCURY

• Closest to the sun

• Smallest

• Surface has craters and cliffs, similar to Earth’s moon

• No atmosphere

• Extreme temperatures 425ºC – -179ºC

• No moons

• Revolution around the sun takes 88 Earth days

• Rotation takes 59 Earth days to complete one turn

VENUS

• Similar in size to the Earth

• Thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide

• Sulfuric acid gives it a yellow color

• Surface has craters, cracks, and volcanoes

• Greenhouse effect cause hot temps of 475ºC 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”

EARTH

• Sustains life

• Surface temps allow water to exist as solid, liquid, & gas

• Has one moon

• Rotation is 24 hours

• Revolution is 365 days

MARS

• Red surface because of iron oxide in soil (Red Planet)

• Ice caps made of frozen ice and CO2

• Large volcanoes and valleys indicating flow of water at one time

• Thin atmosphere of CO2

• Temps range from -125ºC to 35ºC

• 2 small moons

• Revolution is 687 Earth days

• Rotation is 24 hrs. & 37 minutes

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus & Neptune

OUTER PLANETS, GAS GIANTS, JOVIAN PLANETS

• All made of gases

• All have large number of moons orbiting them

• All thought to also have rings, but Saturn having the most visible

JUPITER

• Mostly made of hydrogen and helium

• Largest of the 8 planets with the Great Red Spot

• The Great Red Spot is a strong storm

• 63 known moons: Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system

• Rotation is 9 hrs. & 55 min.

• Revolution is 12 Earth years

SATURN

• Made mostly of hydrogen and helium

• Density is low that it would float in water

• Famous for Great Rings that are made of rock and ice particles

• 47 known moons. Titan being the largest and similar to Earth’s atmosphere

• Rotation: 10 hrs. & 39 min.

• Revolution: 29.5 Earth yrs.

URANUS

• Composed of hydrogen, helium and methane

• Methane gives it its bluish green color

• Tipped on its side, possible collision with a larger object similar to Earth in size

• 27 known moons

• Rotation: 16 hrs. & 7 min.

• Revolution: 84 yrs.

NEPTUNE

• Twin of Uranus

• Made of hydrogen, helium, and methane

• Methane gives it its 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 yrs

DWARF PLANET - PLUTO

• Renamed in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union

• Shared characteristics with Ceres and Eris

• Once Eris was discovered they decided to redefine the meaning of planets