Download Slide 1 - NMSU Astronomy

Malynda Chizek
How Big is the Solar System?
Let’s take a trip…
☼The Space
Shuttle travels
at 17,000 miles
per hour. How
long would it
take to cross the
Solar System?
Begin at the Sun
☼We’ll start at the Sun, and find out how
old we would be when we finally reach
Pluto!
☼The Sun lies almost at the center of our
Solar System. Because Jupiter is so
large, the center of the Solar System is
not at the center of the Sun, but is still
somewhere inside of the Sun.
The Sun is
actually just
an average
star, made
mostly of
hydrogen
and helium.
On to Mercury
☼Mercury is 35,964,590 miles from
the Sun.
☼Even traveling at 17,000 miles
per hour, it still takes 3 months to
reach Mercury!
☼Mercury is a gray, rocky planet
which always has one side facing
the Sun.
Mercury
Mercury travels around
the Sun once every 87
days.
The temperature on the
daytime side reaches
806 degrees Fahrenheit,
while the night side is a
chilly -130 degrees!!
Mercury has no moons.
Next Stop… Venus
☼The second planet is 67,200,000 miles
from the Sun.
☼It takes an additional 2 and a half months
to get there. (Now you are 5 and a half
months older!)
☼Venus is yellow, almost the size of the
Earth, and has a very thick, poisonous
atmosphere.
Venus
Venus’ year is 224
days, but its day is
243 days!
Venus rotates
backwards compared
to all other planets
except Uranus.
It is the hottest
planet… almost 900
degrees!
On to Earth!
• We live on the third planet in our Solar
System, 92,900,000 miles from the Sun.
• The trip from Venus would take 2 months,
we have aged 7 and a half months since
we left the Sun!
• Earth is the only planet in the Solar
System to have liquid on its surface. It is
also the largest rocky planet.
Earth
Earth’s temperature
ranges from -126
degrees to 135
degrees.
Earth is the first planet
we encounter with a
moon!
Just for reference…
our year is 365.26
days long, and our day
is 23 hours and 56
minutes long
Next… Mars
• The fourth planet in the Solar System is
128,000,000 miles from the Sun.
• From Earth, it takes another 3 months of
travel. Now we’ve aged 10 and a half
months.
• Mars is well known for its reddish color,
caused by the iron in the soil. (And by the
rovers currently exploring the surface!)
Mars
• Mars’ day is similar to
ours… 24 hours, 40
minutes, but it’s year
is 686 days (almost 2
years!)
• Its temperatures
range from -124
degrees to 23
degrees.
• Mars also has two
tiny moons
On to Jupiter
• The fifth planet in the Solar System is
483,000,000 miles from the Sun.
• This trip will take 2 years and 5 months!
We’ve aged 3 years and 3 months since
we started at the Sun
• Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar
System. Similar to the Sun, it is also
mostly made of Hydrogen and Helium.
Jupiter
Jupiter spins very
quickly, its day is 10
hours long.
A year on Jupiter is 12
years on Earth
It is mostly made of gas,
with a metallic core.
Jupiter has more than
60 moons counted so
far
Next Stop, Saturn
• Our sixth planet lies 886,000,000 miles
from the Sun!
• It takes 2 years and 9 months to travel this
far. Now we’re 6 years older than we
started as.
• Saturn is yellow, white, and brown. It is
well known for its fantastic rings, first seen
by Galileo in the 1600’s.
Saturn
Saturn’s day is
also very short,
10 and a half
hours!
A Saturn year is
30 years on
Earth.
At last count,
Saturn has 60
moons.
On to Uranus
• Our seventh planet is 1,783,000,000 miles
from the Sun.
• It will take another 6 years and 3 months
to reach! (12 years and 3 months gone!)
• Uranus is greenish-blue. It was the first
planet discovered with a telescope, in
1781.
Uranus
Uranus is unique in
the fact that it orbits on
its side, as well as
backwards.
A Uranian day is 17
hours an 15 monutes.
A Uranian year is 84
years.
Uranus has 27 known
moons.
Next, Neptune
• Neptune, the 8th planet in the Solar
System is 2,793,000,000 miles from the
sun.
• It takes 6 years and 10 months to reach!
(19 years and one month older now!)
• Neptune is a bluish color. Similar to
Jupiter, it also has a giant spot, but this
one is dark blue.
Neptune
Neptune’s day is 16
hours long.
A year on Neptune is
165 years on Earth.
Neptune has 13
known moons.
Neptune is the
furthest planet from
the Sun.
Last Stop, Pluto!
• Pluto was demoted to “dwarf planet” by
the IAU in August, 2006, but it’s still worth
a trip!
• Pluto is 3,670,000,000 miles from the Sun.
• This trip will take an additional 6 years.
• Overall, we have aged 25 years and one
month since we left the Sun!
Pluto
Pluto’s day is 6
days and 9 hours
long.
Its year is 248
years long.
Pluto has 3 known
moons
Its surface
temperature is -369
degrees!
The “Edge” of the Solar System
• There are many other small, rocky dwarf
planets out far beyond Pluto’s orbit. These
extent out to 21 trillion miles!
• A trip to the edge of our Solar System
would take 120 years and 6 months if we
continued from Pluto.
• The Solar System is not a small place!
How Big are the Planets?
Imagine the Earth (which is really 7930
miles wide) is only 3 inches wide.
The Sun (really 865,000 miles wide) would
be 27 feet, 3 inches
Mercury (3030 miles) would be just over one
inch!
Venus (7520 miles) would be almost 3
inches
The Moon (1215 miles) is a little smaller
than 1 inch.
Mars(4215 miles) is 1 and a half inches.
Jupiter (88,210 miles) is 2 feet, nine inches
Saturn (74,130 miles) is 2 feet, 4 inches
Uranus (32,190 miles) is 1 foot
Neptune (30,760 miles) is 11 and a half
inches
Pluto (1500 miles) is just over half an inch.
The Solar System is 256 miles wide.