Download Planet Characteristics - Red Hook Central Schools

Earth Science
An overview of the
Solar System
The Sun
The sun is the
biggest, brightest,
and hottest object in
the solar system.
 The sun is an
ordinary star.
 The sun is made of
about 70%
hydrogen and 28%
helium.

Distance
A
planet’s distance from the
sun has a major effect on its
characteristics
Refer to the Earth Science
Reference Tables for
information
Planets are sorted by density
The
closer planets are
___________ than the
farther out planets
Terrestrial Planets
 The
planets that are Earth-like in
being relatively close to the sun,
mostly solid, and having relatively
small diameters and high densities
 Includes Mercury, Venus, Earth and
Mars
Mercury
Mercury is solid
and is covered with
craters.
 Mercury has
almost no
atmosphere.
 Mercury is the
eighth largest
planet.

Venus
Venus is the sixth
largest planet. It’s
about three-fourths
the size of earth.
 The surface is
rocky and very hot.
The atmosphere
completely hides
the surface and
traps the heat.

Earth
Earth is the fifth largest planet and the
third from the sun.
 Liquid covers 71 percent of the Earth’s
surface.
 The Earth has one moon.

Moon
Man on the Moon
Mars
Mars is the fourth
planet from the
sun.
 Mars has a thin
atmosphere that
contains mostly
carbon dioxide.
 Mars has two small
moons.

Moons of Mars
Phobos
Deimos
Jovian Planets
Planets that are far from the sun, largely
gaseous, and have relatively large
diameters, many moons, rings, and low
densities
 Jovian planets include: Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus and Neptune

Jupiter
Jupiter’s Red Spot


The Great Red Spot,
a huge storm of
swirling gas that has
lasted for hundreds of
years.
Jupiter does not have
a solid surface. The
planet is a ball of
liquid surrounded by
gas.
Moons of Jupiter
Jupiter has four large moons,
twelve smaller named moons and
twenty-three more recently
discovered but not named moons.
We’ll take a look at the four large
Galilean moons which were first
observed by Galileo in 1610.
Io
 Io
is the fifth
moon of Jupiter.
It’s the third
largest of
Jupiter’s moons.
 Io has hundreds
of volcanic
calderas. Some
of the volcanoes
are active.
Europa




Europa is the sixth of
Jupiter’s moons and is
the fourth largest.
It is slightly smaller than
the Earth’s moon.
The surface strongly
resembles images of
sea ice on Earth. There
may be a liquid water
sea under the crust.
Europa is one of the five
known moons in the
solar system to have an
atmosphere.
Ganymede
 Ganymede
is the
seventh and
largest of
Jupiter’s known
satellites.
 Ganymede has
extensive
cratering and an
icy crust.
Callisto
Callisto is the eighth of Jupiter’s known
satellites and the second largest.
 Callisto has the oldest, most cratered
surface of any body yet observed in the
solar system.

Saturn
Saturn is the second largest planet and
the sixth from the sun.
 Saturn is made of materials that are lighter
than water. If you could fit Saturn in a lake,
it would technically float!

Rings of Saturn


Saturn’s rings are not
solid; they are
composed of small
countless particles.
The rings are very
thin. Though they’re
250,000km or more in
diameter, they’re less
than one kilometer
thick.
Uranus



Uranus is the third
largest planet and the
seventh from the sun.
Uranus is one of the
giant gas planets.
Uranus is blue-green
because of the
methane in its
atmosphere.
Neptune



Neptune is the fourth
largest planet and the
eight from the sun.
Because of the orbits,
from 1979 to 1999,
Neptune was the
ninth planet.
Like Uranus, the
methane gives
Neptune its color.
Pluto


Pluto is a dwarf
planet.
Pluto is the only
planet that has not
been visited by a
spacecraft.
FAQ- COULD YOU WALK ON
A GAS GIANT?

It's absolutely impossible. 3 reasons: the planet
has an atmosphere that is made up from gases
that are deadly to a human. Secondly, the surface
of Jupiter (and just about all of the rest of it too) is
gaseous and the only "solid" part is a very small
inner core. Thirdly, even if you could find a solid
surface to stand on you would still die instantly
because the pressure on Jupiter is so incredibly
heavy that a human would be crushed and
flattened like a ribbon instantly.