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Our Solar System Guided Notes
What is a Solar System?
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A ____________ and all of the objects that travel in ______________ around it
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The area of space that is influenced by the ____________________ of a star
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Our solar system is one of many others.
Objects in Our Solar System
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The Sun
Planets
Dwarf Planets
Satellites/Moons
Comets
Asteroids
Meteoroids
Layout of our Solar System (Moving out from the center)
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Sun
Inner Planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Asteroid Belt – asteroids and dwarf planet Ceres
Outer Planets- Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Kuiper Belt-Pluto, Eris, 800 other objects (AKA Trans-Neptunian Objects or TNOs)
Oort Cloud- comets, ice, and dust at the outer limits of the solar system
Motions of our Solar System
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All planets orbit the sun in almost-circular elliptical orbits on approximately the same plane (the
___________________).
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Dwarf Planets, comets, asteroids, and meteoroids also orbit the ___________
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Most Satellites/Moons orbit ______________________ (some orbit dwarf planets or even asteroids)
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Almost all planets, dwarf planets, and moons rotate and revolve _____________________________
The Sun, our star
 A massive sphere of gas held together by ________________________
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__________________ light and heat generated by nuclear fusion
What is a Planet?
 In 2006, the IAU defined a planet as a celestial body that:
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Is in ____________ around the sun
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Has sufficient ______________ to assume a (nearly) _______________ shape
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Has ___________________ the neighborhood around its orbit
Two kinds of planets:
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Terrestrial ____________ Planets (Earth-like)
◦ Mercury
◦ Venus
◦ Earth
◦ Mars
Jovian ___________________ Planets (Jupiter-like)
◦ Jupiter
◦ Saturn
◦ Uranus
◦ Neptune
Terrestrial (Inner) Planets
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Closer to the sun
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Relatively small _____________ and ________________ as compared to outer planets
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_______________________ surface
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Craters present to some degree on all inner planets
Jovian (Outer) Planets
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Further from the sun
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Very _______________________
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___________ Giants and ___________ Giants
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Lower average _______________________ than terrestrial planets
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All have ___________________
What is a Dwarf Planet?
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In 2006, the IAU defined a dwarf planet as a celestial body that:
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Is in orbit around the sun
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Has sufficient mass that it assumes a (nearly) round shape
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Has not __________________________ the neighborhood around its orbit
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Is NOT a __________________________
Dwarf Planets
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Smaller than planets
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Have “company” in their ______________________ areas
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Can have _________________
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Most are located in the ___________________ Belt, but Ceres is in the ___________________ Belt
What is a Satellite?
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A satellite (moon) is an object that _________________ around a planet or dwarf planet (or an
asteroid)
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As of 2008, there are _________ confirmed moons in our solar system
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Most are located around the ___________________ planets
Small Bodies
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In addition to planets, dwarf planets, and moons, there are many smaller objects that also orbit the
sun
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Asteroids
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Asteroids are small, rocky, and _______________________ (up to 1000 km)
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Sometimes called “minor planets”
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Most ____________ in a region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter known as the
Asteroid Belt
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Combined, they would be about half the size of _____________________________
Comets
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An ______________ and rock core (nucleus) that melts as it approaches the sun and gets
blown into space by solar wind pressure (coma and tail).
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Highly _________________ orbits originate in deep space
Meteoroids are small irregular grains of rock, most are asteroid pieces and comet dust (up to a few
meters in diameter)
◦ If they collide with Earth’s atmosphere, they form visible streaks of light as they burn up and
are called ____________________ (shooting stars)
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If a meteor reaches Earth’s ____________________, it is then classified as a meteorite