Download Chapter 7 Solar System study guide

Chapter 7 – Solar System
Study guide
Lesson one
Sun – made of hydrogen and helium
Sun is a star – it is the largest object in the S.S. 1,000,000 Earths
Photosphere  Chromosphere  Corona (inside outside)
Sunspots are cooler spots on the sun – they tend to look black.
Sunspots come and go in cycles of about 11 years.
Solar flares – explosion/ribbon of fire
Solar prominences – ribbon of fire/gases – last days or months
Fusion of H and He makes energy
Sun has the most gravity
Lesson two
Inner Planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars
Outer Planets – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
Pluto – dwarf planet
Planets revolve in an elliptical orbit around the Sun
Moon (satellite) orbits Earth (moons orbit planets)
Asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter
Freefall is when you feel micro gravity (weightlessness)
Jupiter’s diameter 11x bigger and Saturn is 10x bigger than Earth
Lesson three
Inner planets – similar?
Rocky
Tend to be warmer than gas giants
Some atmosphere
Smaller compared to G.G.
Mars is most like the Earth
Mars has polar ice caps
Earth supports life
Mercury/Venus  no moons
Comet  ice and dust
Earth (24H) 1 moon
Mars (25H) 2 moons
Gravity holds the planets in orbit
93 million away from Sun  Earth
Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth in order of size
Lesson four
Outer planets – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Jupiter  at least 63 moons (Ganymede, Europa, Io, Callisto)
All of the G.G. have rings
Jupiter #5 and is the biggest
G.G.  they are gigantic
G.G.  no known solid surface
G.G.  VERY cold
Uranus is on a funny tilt
All G.G. have moons (at least 13)
Uranus and Neptune are blue ??? Methane!
Jupiter has the Big Red Spot  400 yr. old storm
Planets stay in their orbits because of the push and pull between gravity and the
planets tendency to go in a straight line.