Download The Planets! - Science CALC

Planets
Large celestial objects that orbit a star
 Cannot orbit any other celestial object
 Contains enough mass so that its gravity
pulls it into a round or spherical shape
 Able to clear other celestial objects out
of its orbit
 There are 8 planets in our Solar System

Types of Planets
 There
are 2 kinds of planets:
 TERRESTRIAL: made of solid
material
 Example: Mercury, Venus, Earth and
Mars
 GAS
GIANTS: made up mostly of
gases
 Example: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and
Neptune
What About Pluto?

Why is Pluto no longer a planet?
 Its smaller than Earth’s Moon
 It has a flattened orbit
 It crosses the orbit of Neptune
 Its moon is almost as large as itself

Since it cannot clear other objects out of
its orbit, it can no longer be a planet
Dwarf Planet


A celestial object that
orbits the Sun and has
a spherical or round
shape but does not
clear its own orbit.
There are 5 of them:
Ceres, Haumea,
Makemake, Eris and
Pluto
Inner Planets
The four planets of our Solar System
that are closest to the Sun
 They have similar characteristics:

 Have a rocky cratered surface
 Smaller than the other planets
 Have orbits that bring them closer to the Sun
 Have no or very few moons
Mercury






The Smallest Planet
Rotation: 59 days
Orbit: 88 days
Moons: 0
Atmosphere: almost
non-existent
Named for the
speedy Roman
messenger god
Venus






The Hottest Planet
Rotation: 243 days
Orbit: 226 days
Moons: 0
Atmosphere: mostly
carbon dioxide gas which
traps heat from the sun
Named for the Roman
goddess of love and
beauty
Earth






The Living Planet
Rotation: 24 hours
Orbit: 365 days
Moons: 1
Atmosphere: 78%
nitrogen, 20% oxygen
Named after the
material world
Mars






The Red Planet
Rotation: 24.6 hours
Orbit: 1.88 years
Moons: 2
Atmosphere: 95%
carbon dioxide
Named after the
Roman god of war
Outer Planets
The four planets of the solar system that
are farthest from the Sun
 They have similar characteristics:`

 Have a gassy atmosphere and no solid
surface
 Have orbits that keep them far from the Sun
 Have rings surrounding them
 Have numerous moons
Jupiter






The Giant Planet
Rotation: 9.8 hours
Orbit: 12 years
Moons: 63
Atmosphere: mostly
hydrogen and helium
Named after the ruler
of all Roman gods
Saturn






The Ringed Planet
Rotation: 10.7 hours
Orbit: 29.5 years
Moons: 61
Atmosphere: mostly
hydrogen and helium
Named after the
Roman god of
agriculture
Uranus






The Tilted Planet
Rotation: 12.2 hours
Orbit: 84 years
Moons: 27
Atmosphere: mostly
hydrogen and helium
Named for the Greek
god of the sky
Neptune






The Deep-Blue Planet
Rotation: 16.1 hours
Orbit: 165 years
Moons: 13
Atmosphere: mostly
hydrogen and helium
Named for the Roman
god of the sea