Download The Solar System: Planets, Stars and Moons

The Solar System: Planets, Stars and Moons
Solar System
Sun
The solar system is the sun and everything that orbits or moves around
The sun is the star in the middle of our solar system. It
the sun. Planets move around the sun. The solar system is more than
is made of gas: 72% hydrogen (H) and 28% helium (He).
four (4) billion (4,000,000,000) years old. There are many other solar
The sun is a million times bigger than the earth.
systems.
The sun gives energy to the earth. We need the sun to
live. The sun is 92.96 millions (92,960,000) miles or 149.6
million (149,600,000) kilometers from the earth. It takes
eight (8) minutes for the sun’s light to get to the earth.
Planet / Planets
Star / Stars
A planet is a large ball of rock or gas.
(rock)
(gas)
A planet is a celestial body that orbits the sun. “Orbits” means to
move around. “Celestial” means belongs to the universe or the
heavens.
There are eight planets in the solar system. Mercury, Venus,
Earth and Mars are made of rock. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
are made of gas.
Stars are made of very hot gas. The sun is the nearest star to
the earth. Stars make light and energy.
Stars are different colors and sizes. Big or large stars
are blue. Medium size starts like the sun are yellow.
Smaller stars are red. Also, stars are 1 (one) to 10 (ten)
billion years old.
1 Comets and Asteroids
Moons
A comet is a ball of ice and
dust. Dust is tiny pieces or
particles of dirt. Comets orbit or
move the sun.
Moon
The comet’s “tail” of ice and
dust points away from the sun.
(ice)
(dust)
Asteroids are pieces of rock and
metal. They orbit or move
around the sun.
Moons orbit or move
around planets. The earth
has one moon. The moon
looks bright. It reflects the
light from the sun.
A moon is a celestial body.
It orbits around a planet. It
is a natural (found in
nature) satellite of a planet.
A satellite orbits or moves
around a planet.
Phases of the moon: We see the part of the moon the lit by
the sun.
The Earth / The World
We live on the planet earth. The
earth has life – humans, plants,
and animals. We can grow and
reproduce. The earth’s
atmosphere has nitrogen (N) and
oxygen (O2). We need oxygen to
live. The earth has water. We
need water to live.
Galaxy Milky Way
A galaxy is a very large group of stars, planets, gases and
dust. Every galaxy has many solar systems. The earth is part
of the Milky Way galaxy. There are millions of galaxies in
the universe. The universe is everything in space: planets,
stars and galaxies.
Atmosphere is different gases
that surround a planet. The
atmosphere protects life. The
atmosphere is called “air.”
2 The Movement of the sun, earth and moon
Constellations
axis
When stars make patterns, we call the patterns
constellations. The patterns look like animals or people.
The constellation Orion is the name of a person in a Greek
myth. Orion was a great hunter. In the constellation, Orion
wears a belt.
The sun is at the center of the solar system. The sun rotates or spins
on its axis. An axis is an imaginary line that objects turn around. The
earth rotates (spins) on its axis. This is every 24 hours or one day.
The earth rotates and revolves around the sun. Revolve is to move
in a circle. The earth completes its orbit around the sun in 365 days
(one year). This is the revolution of the earth.
This movement is a cycle.
The moon rotates (spins) on its axis. The moon revolves or orbits
around the earth. The moon and earth revolve around the sun.
We can see Orion
from the late fall to early spring or in the winter.
3 The Eight Planets
The four Inner Planets are made mostly or rock. They are called
terrestrial or like the Earth.
Planet
Mercury
o Second planet from
the sun
o Covered with clouds
of poison gases
o Brightest planet
o Hottest planet
o No water; No moon
Earth
o Fourth planet from
the sun
o The red planet (red,
rocky surface)
o Colder than earth
o Highest mountains
o Two (2) moons
Features
o First planet from the sun
o Closets planet to the sun
o Very hot and dry
o Covered with holes
(craters)
o Smallest planet
o No moon
Venus
o Third planet from the sun
o The blue planet (water)
o Best planet for humans
(oxygen, water,
temperature)
o Has land and sea (water)
o One moon
Mars
The Eight Planets
The four Outer Planets are made mostly of gases. They are
called Jovian or like Jupiter.
Planet
Jupiter
Features
o Fifth planet from
the sun
o Largest planet
o Very windy
o Spins the fastest
o Sixty-seven moons
o Sixth planet from
the sun
o Lightest (not dense)
o Has bright rings
made of dust, rocks
and ice
o Sixty-two moons
Uranus
Saturn
o Eights planet from
the sun
o Windy & icy
o Longest storms
(may last hundreds
of years)
o Thirteen (13) moons
o Seventh planet
from the sun
o Has think, dark
rings made of dust
o Coldest planet
o Twenty-seven (27)
moons
Neptune
4 Gravity: Gravity is a force that pulls objects toward each
other. We do not know what causes gravity. We know what
gravity does. Gravity holds us on the ground. If there is no
gravity, people float.
Gravity
Matter: Everything is made up of matter. Matter is anything
we can touch. People are a body of matter. The earth is a body
of matter. The more matter equals (=) the bigger the object or
thing.
Mass: Mass is how heavy something is without gravity. The
mass of an object or person does not change on earth or in space.
A big mass equals (=) harder to move or stop. Mass is measured
in kilograms (kg).
holds
Planet
Earth
Mercury
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
floats
Weight
70 lbs.
26 lbs.
63 lbs.
26 lbs.
177 lbs.
74 lbs.
Weight: Weight is the pull of gravity on an object. Weight is
how heavy an object is with gravity. In the U.S., weight is in
pounds (lbs.) Scientists measure weight in Newtons (N).
My weight in pounds ÷ 2.2 = _________ kg
My mass is _____________kg
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