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The Solar System
By: Jade & Marisol
Table of Contents
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Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
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Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
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Neptune
Pluto
Astroids
Meteors
and
Meteorites
Comets
Telescopes
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Probes
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Dictionary
Men and
Women in
Space
The Sun
What is
the Solar
System
What is the Solar System
• The solar system is a group of planets,
satellites, asteroids, meteors, and comets.
At the center is the sun. Our Solar System
is in a group of many stars called a galaxy.
The galaxy we live in is the Milky Way. The
Solar System has nine planets and it looks
like a wide line of stars.
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The Sun
• The Sun is a medium sized star that is
about 865,000 miles wide. Some stars are
smaller, but most are much larger. The Sun
is mostly hydrogen gas, held together with
gravity. The surface is called the
photosphere, and above that is the
chromosphere. The corona is the top air
layer. The Sun is 27,000,000 degrees
Fahrenheit at the center.
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Mercury
• Mercury goes around the sun every 88
days. It is the smallest inner planet, named
after a wing-footed messenger. During its
orbit it is anywhere from 46-70 million
miles from the Sun. Mercury has extreme
temperatures, from -200-1000 degrees
Fahrenheit. The day on Mercury is 58.6
Earth days, which is 2/3 of its year.
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Venus
• Venus is Earth’s sister planet because of
their similar sizes. It is the hottest planet in
the Solar System. The sulphuric acid clouds
trap heat, and the atmosphere is mostly
carbon dioxide.Venus rotates the opposite
direction of most other planets. A day on
Venus is 243 earth days. It is the 3rd
densest planet.
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Earth
• Earth is the only planet where plants and
animals can live. The ozone blocks radiation
and permits life. The atmosphere is 99%
nitrogen and the oxygen we breathe. Earth
is 93 million miles from sun. Its
temperatures are more mild then most
planets, from -126-136 degrees Fahrenheit.
Unlike other planets the surface is divided
into plates.
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Mars
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Mars has polar ice caps made of water and carbon
dioxide. It has been nicknamed the “Red Planet” because
of its red rocks. It has the highest mountain in the Solar
System, Olympus Mons. It was named after the Roman
God of War. It is the most Earth-like in the Solar
System, with a diameter slightly over half of Earth’s, and a
crust similar to Earth’s. Nine Mars’ would fit in Earth. A
day on Mars is equal to 1.03 Earth days, and a year is 687
Earth days. Mars averages 142 million miles from the sun,
and has the most eccentric orbit in the Solar System.
Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos.
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Jupiter
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Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System.
Its diameter is 11 times that of Earth, and its
mass is 318 times greater. All other planets in the
Solar System could fit inside of it. Jupiter actually
has barely visible rings. Its red spot is a giant
storm that has been there for thousands of
years. It has 39 known moons, more than other
planets. This planet has no seasons because its
axis is not tilted enough. A year on Jupiter is 12
earth years, and a day is about 10 hours.
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Saturn
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Saturn’s rings are made mostly of ice chunks. They can
be up to 185,000 miles wide, but only about .6 miles
thick. The rings were first observed by Galileo in the
17th century. This planet’s atmosphere is made of
mostly hydrogen and helium gas. Saturn can be seen
without a telescope, but a telescope is needed to see
its rings. About 764 earths could fit inside if it were
hollow. Saturn has a flat shape caused by its fast
rotation. It is less dense than water, and so it would
float if there was enough water to hold it. Saturn’s day
is about 10 hours, a year is about 30 earth years.
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Uranus
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Uranus has 11 rings and 22 known moons. Its
blue color is caused by methane gas in the
atmosphere. The axis is tilted sideways, causing
extreme seasons, as well as 21 days of night
followed by 21 days of morning. A day is 17.9
hours and a year is 84.07 earth years. Uranus’
average temperature is -350 degrees
fahrenheit, because it radiates little heat. It was
named after Ouranous, god of the sky.
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Neptune
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On Neptune, there are frigid, strong winds. Its
blue color is caused by methane gas like
Uranus. Neptune has faint rings arranged in
clumps, as well as eight moons. It was the first
planet whose existence was predicted
mathematically, it was something blocking
Uranus’ orbit. Sixty earths could fit inside if it
were hollow. A day is 19 hours, and a year is 165
earth years. Neptune was named after the
Roman sea god.
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Pluto
Pluto is the smallest planet in the Solar
System, smaller than even Earth’s moon. Pluto
is also the farthest planet from the sun. It is
so far away it is hard to see even through a
large telescope. It was discovered in 1930 by
Clyde Tombaugh, and named after the Roman
god of the underworld by 11 year old girl. It
has one moon, Charon. Pluto’s day is about
six days, and a year is 248 Earth years.
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Astroids
• Astroids are small rocks that orbit the sun,
found mostly between Jupiter and Mars’
orbits in the asteroid belt. Ceres is by far
the largest asteroid, it is 500 miles wide.
Ceres is now classified as a dwarf planet.
Asteroids found in Jupiter’s orbit are called
Trojan asteroids. An asteroid called Ida is in
the Apollo group, and even has a moon.
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Meteors and Meteorites
• A meteor begins as a meteoroid but
becomes a meteor when it rubs Earth’s
atmosphere. The rubbing creates a streak of
light, this is the meteor. Meteors are
sometimes called falling stars. Usually
meteors burn up because of friction, but
sometimes they hit earth’s surface. When
this happens then it is a meteorite.
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Comets
• Comets have a nucleus made of icy gas and
dust, as well as a coma that is water vapor,
carbon dioxide, and other gases. Comets
orbit the sun, and a tail develops when they
are near the sun. The tail can be up to 250
million miles long, and it is only visible
when it is near the sun. Some comets crash
into the sun, and these are called
sungrazers. Back to Table of Contents
Telescopes
• Telescopes help scientists to see things in
space. Optical telescopes use light to make
magnified images. Light is brought in by the
objective lens, and it forms an image that
you see. Then the eyepiece magnifies the
picture. Refracting telescopes use convex
lenses which are curved out. The light goes
through and is bent, then the eyepiece
magnifies the image.
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Probes
• Probes travel into space to take pictures,
and send information back to earth for
scientists to study. Some probes even orbit
planets to take pictures, and some land on
planets to get close-ups. A probe called
Galileo has orbited Jupiter for more than
six years.
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Men and Women in
Space
• The Russians won the “Race to space” by
putting the first person in space. The
Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the
first. He left on April 12, 1961. But the
Americans had the first person on the
moon, he was the American astronaut Neil
Armstrong. The first American woman in
space was Sally Ride in 1983 on the shuttle
Challenger.
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Dictionary
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Celestial Object-an
object in space
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Mass- the amount of
matter in something
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Distance- the amount
of space between
things
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Satellite- something in
space that orbits a
larger object
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Gravitational Forcethe pull of gravity
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Scale- the size of
things
Gravity- the force
that attracts objects
to larger objects such
as planets
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• Stars- large balls
of gas in the night
sky