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The Solar System
Table of Contents
Observing the Solar System
The Sun
The Inner Planets
The Outer Planets
Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors
Is There Life Beyond Earth?
The Solar System
3-1 Observing the Solar System
Observer
Greek
Scientists
Ptolemy
Copernicus
Galileo
Brahe
Kepler
Approx.
Date
Accomplishment
The Solar System
Geocentric
Heliocentric
The Solar System - Observing the Solar System
Geocentric System
In a geocentric system, Earth is at the center of the revolving
planets and stars.
The Solar System - Observing the Solar System
Heliocentric System
In a heliocentric system, Earth and the other planets revolve
around the sun.
The Solar System - Observing the Solar System
The Sun and Planets
Shown below are the average distances of
each planet from the sun.
The Solar System - Observing the Solar System
Solar System Activity
Click the Active Art button to open a browser window and
access Active Art about the solar system.
The Solar System - Observing the Solar System
Planet Speed Versus Distance
Johannes Kepler discovered a
relationship between the speed
of a planet and its distance from
the sun. Use the graph to
discover what Kepler learned.
The Solar System - Observing the Solar System
Planet Speed Versus Distance
Reading Graphs:
According to the graph, what
is Earth’s average speed?
About 30 km/s
The Solar System - Observing the Solar System
Planet Speed Versus Distance
Interpreting Data:
Which is closer to the sun,
Mercury or Mars? Which
moves faster?
Mercury; Mercury
The Solar System - Observing the Solar System
Planet Speed Versus Distance
Drawing Conclusions:
What is the general
relationship between a
planet’s speed and its
average distance from the
sun?
Planets that are closer to the
sun move faster.
The Solar System - Observing the Solar System
Planet Speed Versus Distance
Predicting:
The planet Uranus is about
2,900 million km from the sun.
Predict whether its speed is
greater or less than Jupiter's
speed. Explain your answer.
Uranus’s speed is less than
that of Jupiter because
Uranus is farther from the sun
than Jupiter.
The Solar System - Observing the Solar System
Previewing Visuals
Preview Figure 2 and Figure 3. Then write two questions you
have about Earth’s history in a graphic organizer like the one
below. As you read, answer your questions.
Models of the Universe
Q. What is a geocentric model?
A. A model that shows Earth at the center of the revolving planets
and stars
Q. What is a heliocentric system?
A. A model that shows Earth and the other planets revolving
around the sun
The Solar System
End of Section:
Observing the
Solar System
The Solar System - The Sun
The Layers of the Sun
The sun has an interior and an
atmosphere, each of which
consists of several layers.
The Solar System - The Sun
Outlining
As you read, make an outline
about the sun that you can
use for review. Use the red
headings for the main topics
and the blue headings for the
subtopics.
The Sun
I. The Sun’s Interior
A. The Core
B. The Radiation Zone
C. The Convection Zone
II. The Sun’s Atmosphere
A. The Photosphere
B. The Chromosphere
C. The Corona
III. Features on the Sun
A. Sunspots
B. Prominences
C. Solar Flares
D. Solar Wind
The Solar System - The Sun
More on the Sun
Click the Planet Diary button for an activity about the sun.
The Solar System
End of Section:
The Sun
The Solar System
Size of the Solar System
Our
Solar
System
is 2 light
years
wide.
The Solar System - The Inner Planets
The Inner Planets
The inner planets take up only a small part of the solar
system. Note that sizes and distances are not drawn to scale.
The Solar System - The Inner Planets
Mercury
Mercury is the smallest terrestrial planet and the planet
closest to the sun.
The Solar System - The Inner Planets
Mercury
•Mercury surface is
covered by a thin layer of
minerals called silicates
•Mercury is dry, extremely
hot, and almost airless.
•Mercury does not have
enough gases in its
atmosphere to reduce the
amount of heat and light it
receives from the sun.
The Solar System - The Inner Planets
Venus
Venus’s density and internal structure are similar to Earth’s.
But, in other ways, Venus and Earth are very different.
The Solar System - The Inner Planets
Venus
This figure combines images of Venus taken from space with a
camera (left) and radar (right). The camera image shows
Venus’s thick atmosphere. Radar is able to penetrate Venus’s
clouds to reveal the surface. Both images are false color.
The Solar System
Venus
•The surface of Venus is
extremely hot and dry. There is
no liquid water on the planet's
surface because the high
temperature would cause any
liquid to boil away.
Thick clouds of sulfuric acid
cover Venus.
•Venus has a variety of surface
features, plains, mountains,
canyons, and valleys.
•The atmosphere consists
primarily of carbon dioxide.
Maat Mons, a mountain on Venus.
The Solar System - The Inner Planets
Earth’s Layers
Earth has three main layers—a crust, a mantle, and a core.
The Solar System - The Inner Planets
Mars
Mars is called the “red planet.” When you see it in the sky, it has a
slightly reddish tinge. This reddish color is due to the breakdown of
iron-rich rocks, which creates a rusty dust that covers Mars’s surface.
The Solar System - The Inner Planets
Mars
The Solar System - The Inner Planets
Mars
Mars has ice caps at both poles. Scientists think that a large
amount of liquid water flowed on Mars's surface in the distant
past.
The Solar System - The Inner Planets
Mars’ Atmosphere
The Solar System - The Inner Planets
Using Prior Knowledge
Look at the section headings and visuals to see what this
section is about. Then write what you know about the inner
planets in a graphic organizer like the one below. As you
read, write what you learn.
What You Know
1.
2.
3.
4.
Most of Earth is covered with water.
Mercury is closest to the sun.
Venus is very hot.
Mars is called the “red planet.”
What You Learned
1.
2.
3.
4.
Earth is unique in our solar system for having liquid water at its surface.
Mercury has a greater temperature range than any of the other planets.
A day on Venus is longer than its year.
The reddish tinge on Mars is caused by the breakdown of iron-rich
rocks.
The Solar System - The Inner Planets
Links on the Planets
Click the SciLinks button for links on the planets.
The Solar System
End of Section:
The Inner Planets
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Gas Giants and Pluto
The four outer planets–Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and
Neptune–are much larger and more massive than Earth, and
they do not have solid surfaces. Pluto is small and rocky.
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Jupiter
Compared to
Earth
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Jupiter’s Structure
Jupiter is composed mainly of the elements hydrogen and
helium.
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Jupiter’s Structure
Jupiter is a giant ball of gas and
liquid with little, if any, solid
surface.
Atmosphere—86 % Hydrogen
and 14% Helium
Chemicals have formed colorful
layers of clouds at different
heights. The highest white
clouds in the zones are made of
crystals of frozen ammonia.
Darker, lower clouds of other
chemicals occur in the belts
The planet Jupiter's Great Red
Spot is a huge mass of swirling
gas. At its widest, it is about
three times the diameter of the
Earth. Image credit: NASA
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Jupiter’s Moons
63 Moons Total!
Only 16 are wider than 6
miles across!
Galileo discovered Jupiter’s
four largest moons. They
are named Io, Europa,
Ganymede, and Callisto.
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Jupiter’s Random, But Totally Cool Fact
49
6
Years it took the Galileo
spacecraft to reach
Jupiter.
Number
of named moons also known as
natural satellites orbiting Jupiter.
1,321
Number of Earths that
could fit inside Jupiter.
3
The number of
rings around
Jupiter.
59
Minutes NASA's
Galileo probe survived
before it was crushed
by the intense
pressure of Jupiter's
atmosphere.
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Saturn
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Saturn
Saturn is made mostly of hydrogen
and helium. The surface and
merges into its atmosphere.
The seven rings make up Saturn.
They are made up of billions of
pieces of ice. These pieces range
from ice particles that are the size
of dust to chunks of ice that
measure more than 10 feet in
diameter.
The dark side of Saturn's rings was
photographed by Voyager 1 as it
flew by the side opposite the sun.
The dense B-ring -- the reddishbrown band -- appears dark
because it blocks much of the
sunlight. It is the brightest ring
when viewed from earth. Image
credit: JPL
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Saturn’s Random, But Totally Cool Fact
70,700 mph
Speed of the Cassini
spacecraft as it traveled to
Saturn.
5,600
Number of years it
would take to travel
the same distance as
Cassini at 60 mph.
1
Percentage of time Cassini's
engines will burn during the
mission. The other 99% is all
cruising.
1,100 mph
Wind speeds at Saturn's
equator. About 1,800 kph.
Earth's most violent
tornadoes hit 200 mph.
52
Number
of named
moons orbiting
Saturn.
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Uranus
Although the gas giant Uranus is about four times the
diameter of Earth, it is still much smaller than Jupiter and
Saturn.
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Uranus
The surface of Uranus
consists of blue-green
clouds made up of tiny
crystals of methane.
Far below the visible
clouds are probably
thicker cloud layers made
up of liquid water and
crystals of ammonia ice.
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Uranus
Uranus’s axis of rotation is tilted at an angle of about 90
degrees from the vertical.
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Neptune is the only
planet that cannot be
seen without a telescope
The Solar System
Neptune
Neptune’s bluish color is
caused by small amounts of
methane gas in its
atmosphere.
The planet has 13 moons and
a very narrow, faint ring
system.
The Solar System
Neptune
Neptune’s bluish color is
caused by small amounts of
methane gas in its
atmosphere. The atmosphere
is mostly hydrogen, helium
and water.
The planet has 13 moons and
a very narrow, faint ring
system.
The Solar System
Neptune
Neptune may be the
windiest planet in the
solar system. Winds tear
through the clouds at
more than 1,200 mph
Scientists think there
might be an ocean of
super hot water under
Neptune's cold clouds. It
does not boil away
because of the incredible
pressure.
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Pluto
Pluto has a solid surface and is much smaller and
denser than the other outer planets.
3!
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Pluto
From Pluto, our
Sun would look
like a very bright
star.
The Solar System
Pluto
The surface of Pluto is
made of two parts An icy
part made of nitrogen and
a non-icy part.
The air is made mostly of
nitrogen.
Pluto may in the group of
icy objects just beyond
Neptune called the Kuiper
Belt. The Kuiper Belt is
made up of millions of icy
and rocky objects.
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Identifying Main Ideas
As you read the section “Gas Giants and Pluto,” write the
main idea–the biggest or most important idea–in a graphic
organizer like the one below. Then write supporting details
that further explain the main idea.
Main Idea
The four gas giants are similar in…
Detail
Structure–
they do not
have a solid
surface.
Detail
Detail
Detail
Atmosphere–
thick and made
up mainly of
hydrogen and
helium.
Rings–
each is
surrounded by
a set of rings.
Size and mass–
each is very
large and
massive.
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
More on the Planets
Click the PHSchool.com button for an activity
about the planets.
The Solar System
End of Section:
The Outer
Planets
The Solar System - Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors
Structure of a Comet
The main parts of a comet are the nucleus, the coma, and
the tail. Most comets have two tails—a bluish gas tail and a
white dust tail.
The Solar System - Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors
Comet Orbits
Most comets revolve around the sun in very long, narrow
orbits. Gas and dust tails form as the comet approaches
the sun.
The Solar System - Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors
The Asteroid Belt
Most asteroids revolve
around the sun between
the orbits of Mars and
Jupiter. This region is
called the asteroid belt.
The Solar System - Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors
Comparing and Contrasting
As you read, compare and contrast comets, asteroids, and
meteoroids by completing a table like the one below.
Comets, Asteroids, and Meteoroids
Feature
Comets
Asteroids
Meteoroids
Origin
Kuiper belt and Oort
cloud
Between the orbits of
Mars and Jupiter
Comets or asteroids
Size
Excluding the tail,
about the size of a
mountain
Typically less than 1
km; some are more
than 300 km in
diameter
Smaller than comets
or asteroids
Composition
Ice, dust, small rocky
particles
Rock
Rock or dust
The Solar System - Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors
Links on Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors
Click the SciLinks button for links on comets,
asteroids, and meteors.
The Solar System
End of Section:
Comets,
Asteroids, and
Meteors
The Solar System - Is There Life Beyond Earth?
Asking Questions
Before you read, preview the red headings. In a graphic
organizer like the one below, ask a question for each
heading. As you read, write answers to your questions.
Question
Answer
What are the
“Goldilocks”conditions?
The favorable conditions on
Earth that allow life to exist
Is there life on Mars?
Scientists have not yet found
evidence for life on Mars.
Why do scientists think Europa
might have life?
Europa has an ice crust that
could have a liquid water ocean
underneath.
The Solar System - Is There Life Beyond Earth?
Links on Extraterrestrial Life
Click the SciLinks button for links on extraterrestrial life.
The Solar System
End of Section:
Is There Life
Beyond Earth?
The Solar System
Graphic Organizer
Feature
Geocentric
System
Heliocentric
System
Object at center
Earth
Sun
Objects that move
around center
Planets and sun
Planets
Proposed by
Early Greek
astronomers
Copernicus
Supporters
Ptolemy
Brahe, Kepler,
Galileo
The Solar System
End of Section:
Graphic Organizer