Download Solar System Characteristics Cards Name: Sun Name: Mercury

Solar System Characteristics Cards
Name: Sun
Period of Rotation: 27 earth days
Name: Mercury
Number of Moons: 0
Period of Rotation: 58.6 days
Period of Revolution: 220 million years
Period of Revolution: 87.9 days
Orbit: 26,000 light years,
Orbit: 223,700,000 miles
Location: center of solar of system, spiral arm called
Location: 1st from the Sun; between sun and Venus,
the Perseus
inner planets
Size/Mass: 1.99 billion billion billion metric tons
Size/Mass: 33 x 1022 kg (0.6 x Earth)
(333,333 x Earth) wow!
Gravity: 0.38 x Earth
Atmosphere: Mostly hydrogen 73%, helium 24%, O
Terrestrial or Gas Giant: Terrestrial
.7%, C .29%, Fe .16%, S .12% which extends past the
orbit of Pluto
Physical Properties: Composed of hydrogen that
Atmosphere: Hydrogen 99%, helium 1%
changes to helium during nuclear fusion. Energy
Physical Properties: Close to the Sun; very cold at
produced in the core powers the Sun and
produces essentially all the heat and light
received on Earth.
night and very hot during the day; craters
Temps: -173 to 427C
Temps: 5,507 C
Name: Venus
Name: Earth
Number of Moons: 0
Number of Moons: 1
Period of Rotation: 243.1 days
Period of Rotation: 23 hours 53 minutes
Period of Revolution: 224.7 days
Period of Revolution: 365.3 days,
Orbit: 422,500,000 miles
Orbit: 584,000,000 miles
nd
Location: 2 from the Sun, between mercury and
Location: 3rd from the Sun, between Venus and
earth, inner planets
Mars, inner planets
Size/Mass: 487 x 1022 kg (0.82 x Earth)
Size/Mass: 598 x 1022 kg, 5,970 billion, billion
Gravity: (0.90 x Earth)
metric tons.
Gravity: 1 x Earth=1
Terrestrial or Gas Giant: Terrestrial
Terrestrial or Gas Giant: Terrestrial
Atmosphere: Carbon dioxide 96.4%,with minor
Atmosphere: Nitrogen 78% and oxygen 21% and
amounts of nitrogen 3.4% and trace amounts of
minor amounts carbon dioxide 0.039% , ozone,
helium, neon, and argon
argon, and helium
Physical Properties: About the same size of Earth;
Physical Properties: Has atmosphere and
thick cloud cover traps much of the Sun's heat
temperature ranges which allow life; has liquid water.
causing the hottest average temperature of all the
Temps: -69 to 58 C
planets
Temps: 464 C
Name: Mars
Name: Jupiter
Number of Moons: 2, Phobos and Deimos
Number of Moons: Has 62 moons, 50 official, and
12 unofficial.
Period of Rotation: 24 hours 37 minutes
Period of Rotation: 9 hours 55 minutes
Period of Revolution: 686.9 days
Period of Revolution: 4,332.9 days (11.8 years)
Orbit: 888,000,000 miles
Orbit: 3,037,000,000 miles
Location: 4th from the Sun, between Earth and
Location:5th from the Sun, between mars and
Jupiter, inner planet
Saturn, outer planet, 5.203 AU; 778 million km
(483.88 million miles)
22
Size/Mass: 64.2 x 10 kg (0.11 x Earth)
Size/Mass: 190,000 x 1022 kg, (318 x Earth)
Gravity: 0.379 x Earth
Gravity: 2.39 x Earth
Terrestrial or Gas Giant: Terrestrial
Terrestrial or Gas Giant: Gas giant
Atmosphere: Thin layer of mainly carbon dioxide
Atmosphere: Hydrogen 96%, helium 3%, with trace
95.3%; Nitrogen 2.7%, argon 1.6%, and small traces of amounts of water, ammonia, methane 0.4%,
oxygen and water vapor also present
and other carbon compounds
Temperature: -140 to 20C
Temperature: -163 to -121 C
Physical Properties: Has much higher mountains and Physical Properties: Has a red spot where a giant
far deeper canyons than the Earth; temperature
storm has been raging for at least 300 years; has no
ranges similar to earth; may have frozen water at poles solid surface; has a faint ring; under its atmosphere
there is a large liquid ocean of hydrogen and water
Name: Saturn
Name: Uranus
Number of Moons: Has 53 official moons and 9
Number of Moons: 21
unofficial moons.
Period of Rotation: 10 hours 13 minutes
Period of Rotation: 17.2 hours
Period of Revolution: 10,759.2 days (29.5 years)
Period of Revolution: 30,684 days (84 years)
Orbit: 5,565,900,000 miles
Orbit: 11,201,300,000 miles
Location: 6th from the Sun, between Jupiter and
Location: 7th from the Sun, between Saturn and
Uranus, outer planet, 9.539 AU; 14.29 million km
Neptune, outer planet, 19.18AU; 2,871million km
(887.14 million miles)
(1,783.98 million miles)
22
Size/Mass: 56, 900 x 10 kg
Size/Mass: 8,690 x 1022 kg
Gravity: 1.06 x Earth
Gravity: 0 .903 x Earth
Terrestrial or Gas Giant: Gas giant
Terrestrial or Gas Giant: Gas giant
Atmosphere: Thick atmosphere of hydrogen 96%
Atmosphere: Mainly of hydrogen 83% and minor
and helium 3%; methane and ammonia also present
amounts of helium 15% and methane 2%.
Physical Properties: Atmosphere of methane and Physical Properties: Spins on its side; has a large
helium; no solid surface; first planet discovered to rocky core; almost identical to the planet Neptune;
have rings. The sky gradually turns into liquid until it has dark rings; cold
becomes an ocean of liquid chemicals.
Temps:-214 to -205 C
Temps: -191 to -130 C
Name: Neptune
Name:Pluto
Number of Moons: 13
Number of moons: 5 Charon, Nix, Hydra, Kerberos,
Styx
Period of Rotation: 16 hours 17 minutes
Period of Rotation: 6.38 days
Period of Revolution: 60,190 days (165 years)
Period of Revolution: 248.5 years
Orbit: 17,562,300,000 miles
Orbit: elliptical, crosses over the path of other planets
Location:8th from the Sun, between Uranus and
Location: used to be the 9th planet from the sun,
Pluto 30.06 AU; 4,504 million km (2,796.46 million
between neptune and... Is part of the Kuiper Belt
miles)
Size/Mass:10, 280 X 1022 kg
Size/mass: 13 billion billion metric tons (.002 x Earth)
Gravity: 1.137 x Earth
Gravity: 0.067 x Earth
Terrestrial or Gas Giant: Gas giant
Terrestrial or gas giant: neither, its a dwarf planet
Atmosphere: Mainly hydrogen and helium;
Atmosphere: Nitrogen 90%
small amounts of methane
Carbon monoxide + Methane 10%
Physical Properties: Has six rings; has a storm called Physical properties: A ball of icy rock and is smaller
The Great Dark Spot; has faint rings; cold
Temps: -223 to -220
than Earth’s moon!
Galilean Moons:
Which planet do they orbit?
Name: Io
Name: Callisto
Name: Ganymede
Name: Europa
Distance from Planet:
Distance from Planet:
Distance from Planet:
Distance from Planet:
421,600 km
1,070,000 km
670,900 km
670,900 km
th
th
th
Location: 5 from Jupiter Location: 8 from Jupiter Location: 7 from Jupiter Location: 6th from Jupiter
Orbital Period of
Orbital Period of
Orbital Period of
Orbital Period of
Revolution: 1.769 days
Revolution: 16.689 days
Revolution: 7.154 days
Revolution: 3.551 days
Other Characteristics:
Other Characteristics:
Other Characteristics:
Other Characteristics:
Active volcanism;
2 largest moon;
Largest moon in solar
4th largest moon; ice; may
sulfur, iron, and rocky
cratered surface; ice;
system; ice; grooved
have ocean under
material;
3rd largest moon
nd
thin
atmosphere
terrain on cratered
surface
surface
of ice; smallest moon; has
phases like Earth’s moon
Name: Meteors
Name: Asteroids
General Location/Path: Most likely source for most General Location/Path: Four sets of asteroids
Meteors is the asteroid belt between Jupiter and
fields: the
Mars.
main belt, Trojans, scattered disc, and Kuiper belt.
A meteoroid is a sand- to boulder-size particle of
The asteroid field, known as the main belt, is a large
debris in the solar system.
collection of objects that are in orbit between
One that enters Earth's atmosphere is called a
Jupiter and Mars.
meteor, or a shooting star or falling star.
If a meteoroid reaches the ground and survives
impact, then it is called a meteorite. Many meteors
appearing seconds or minutes apart are called a
meteor shower.
Physical Properties: Interplanetary space is littered
Physical Properties: Asteroids are thought to be the
with rocks tens of meters in diameter or less. These
result of the Big Bang; large asteroids collide
are asteroids that have been pulled into a planets
and destroy each other until they are elliptical
gravitational field and either burn up or impact on a
and other odd shaped, pock-marked rocky
planet or moon surface. Most meteors are tiny
objects.
specks of dust and rapidly burn up in the atmosphere.
Some are larger and produce spectacular fireballs
that are very bright. Meteors are common; you can
usually observe a few per hour on any clear night, but
fireballs are rare.
Name: Comet
Name: Moon
General Location/Path: Disc-like belt of
General Location/Path:
icy bodies just beyond Neptune. Most
An object that orbits a planet. A natural
come from an area called “Oort Cloud”
satellite.
and can take 30million years to go around
the Sun.
Physical Properties:
Pic:
Made of ice, rocks and dust.
It has a head and a tail.
Physical
Properties:http://meteorites.wustl.edu/lunar/howdoweknow.htm
Definition and Illustration for each of the following:
Rotation:
Revolution:
Orbit:
1. How many moons are there in our solar system?
2. Do all planets have
Which ones?
moons?
3. Where are most asteroids located?
4. List all the planets that fall under the following categories:
a. Large, fast moving, made mostly of gasses:
b. Small, slow moving (in comparison to other space objects) and made mostly
of rock and metal:
5. Which planet is MOST similar to
Earth?
6. What elements are stars composed of?
7. Why does the Sun look so small?
8. Is the Sun the biggest star in the universe?
Illustrate the major objects in our solar system.
Why?