Planets in the Solar System
Earth Science
Chapter 3
The Planets
There are nine planets in our solar system. They each rotate around the sun in an elliptical orbit. The nine planets are:
1. Venus 6. Saturn
2. Mercury 7. Uranus
3. Earth 8. Neptune
4. Mars 9. Pluto
5. Jupiter
Mercury
- Planet closest to the sun
- One of the hottest planets
- Rocky, cratered surface
- Steep cliffs- Extremely thin
atmosphere
Venus
- 2nd planet from the sun
- Thick cloud cover- Greenhouse effect- Retrograde rotation- Vast plains- High mountains
Earth
- 3rd planet from the sun
- Atmosphere of oxygen and nitrogen
- Contains living things- Earth’s surface is
97% water
Mars
- 4th planet from the sun
- Polar ice caps - Pink sky- Rust-colored surface- Explored by Vikings 1
and 2- Has two tiny moons
Jupiter- 5th planet form the
sun- Great red spot- Magnetosphere- Extremely high
temperatures- Explored by Voyagers
1 and 2- Has moons called Io,
Europa, Ganymede and Callisto
Saturn- 6th planet from the
sun- Has many rings and
ringlets - Spins rapidly on axis- Made mainly of
hydrogen and helium gases
- Titan, the only moon with substantial atmosphere
Uranus
- 7th planet from the sun
- Rotates on its side- Has a greenish-blue
color- Has 9 known rings
surrounding it- Has 15 moons
Neptune
- 8th planet from the sun- Mathematician’s
planet- Has thick cloud cover- Has rocky core
surrounded by slush of water and frozen methane
Pluto
- 9th planet from the sun
- Smallest and least massive planet
- Made of various ices- Coldest planet- Possibly a double
planet