Download Eight Planet System PowerPoint

The Solar System
The Sun
The Sun is our closest star.
Is a member of the Milky Way galaxy.
Is a medium size star.
It is believed to be about 4.6 billion years old.
(The age of an average star is about 5 billion
years old.).
The diameter of the Sun is 1,392,000
kilometers.
Temperature ranges from 5,800o Celsius (C)
to over 15,600,000o C at its core.
The Sun
In the Sun's core,
hydrogen is fused
to form helium in a
process called
fusion.
The sun is
composed of gas:
75% hydrogen,
25% helium, and
0.1% metals.
The Eight Planets
Mercury
Venus
Jupiter
Saturn
Earth
Mars
Neptune
Uranus
Mercury –
Closest to the Sun
•1st planet from the sun
•3.2 Light minutes from
the sun.
•diameter of 4,879 km
•Terrestrial planet –
composed of iron and silica.
Mercury
• No satellites / no rings.
•Temperature ranges from –173o C to
427o C.
•Very thin atmosphere.
•Fun Fact: The temperature on Mercury gets so hot
it could melt a tin pan.
VenusEarth’s Twin
•2nd planet from the sun
•6.0 Light minutes from the
sun.
•diameter of 12,104 km
•Terrestrial planet – basically
the same as Earth.
Venus
• No satellites / no rings.
•Temperature is 464o C. The hottest planet due the
largest amount of greenhouse gases.
•Atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide.
•Fun Fact: Venus is called the Evening Star. It is
called this because it looks so bright to us from
Earth.
EarthThe Water Planet
•3rd planet from the sun
•8.3 Light minutes from the
sun.
•diameter of 12,756 km
• Terrestrial planet – iron,
oxygen, silicon, and
magnesium.
Earth
• 1 satellite / No rings
•Temperature ranges from –13o C to 37o C.
•Atmosphere is 77% nitrogen and 21% oxygen.
•Fun Fact: Seventy percent of the Earth's surface is
covered by water. The remaining 30 percent
is covered by mountains, volcanoes, deserts,
plains, and valleys.
MarsThe Red Planet
• 4th planet from the sun
• 12.7 Light minutes from
the sun.
•diameter of 6,794 km
• Terrestrial planet –
sulfur and iron
Mars
• 2 satellites / No rings.
•Temperature ranges from –123o C to 37o C.
•Atmosphere is 95.3% carbon dioxide and 2.7%
nitrogen.
•Fun Fact: Some of the meteorites found on Earth are
actually pieces of the planet Mars. As of June 2006, 34
“Martian meteorites” have been found.
JupiterThe Largest Planet
•
5th planet from the sun
• 43.3 Light minutes from
the sun.
• diameter of
142,984 km
• Gas giant –
hydrogen, helium, and
ammonia
Jupiter
• 50 satellites / 3 rings.
•Temperature is -153O C.
•Atmosphere is 90% hydrogen and 10% helium.
•Fun Fact: Jupiter is so large that all of the other
planets in the solar system could fit inside of it.
SaturnThe Ringed Planet
•
6th planet from the sun
• 1.3 Light hours from
the sun.
• diameter of 120,536 km
• Gas giant – hydrogen &
helium
Click here to learn more about Saturn.
Saturn
• 53 satellites / 14 rings.
•Temperature is -185O C.
•Atmosphere is 75% hydrogen and 25% helium.
Fun Fact: Saturn has the lowest density of any planet
in our solar system. Its density is so low that it would
float, if it was placed in water.
UranusNeptune’s Twin
• 7th planet from the
sun
• 2.7 Light hours
from the sun.
• Diameter of
51,118 km
• Gas giant – water,
methane, ammonia
Click here to learn more about Uranus.
ice
Uranus
• 27 satellites / 11 rings.
•Temperature is -214o C.
•Atmosphere is 83% hydrogen, 15% helium, and
2% methane.
Fun Fact: Uranus is one of the smaller gas giants in
our solar system, but it is still large enough to hold 64
planets the size of Earth.
Neptune –
The Blue Planet
• 8th planet from the
sun
• 4.2 Light hours from
the sun.
• diameter of
49,528 km
• Gas giant –water,
methane, ammonia
Click here to learn more about Neptune.
Neptune
• 13 satellites / 4 rings.
•Temperature is -225o C.
•Atmosphere is 80% hydrogen, 19%helium
and 1% methane.
•Fun Fact: It is so cold on Neptune that you
would need skin thicker than a polar bear's
to stay warm.
Moon
• A moon is a natural
satellite of a planet.
• The Earth’s moon is
called Luna.
• Earth has only 1
moon.
• Jupiter has about 50.
Earth’s Moon
•
•
•
•
Composition: Solid
Orbit / Location: 384,400 km from Earth
Position in Space: Orbits the Earth
How is it classified? Terrestrial “planet”
due to its size and composition.
• Fun Facts: The gravity between the
Earth and the Moon causes the tides.
The moon has no atmosphere.
Comets
• A comet is a small body of
ice, rock and cosmic dust
loosely packed together.
• It is made up of a nucleus,
with a cloud that surrounds
it, and a tail.
Comets
• Composition: Solid – frozen water, gases, and
dust.
• Orbit / Location: Eccentric; takes them far
beyond the orbit of Pluto.
• Position in Space: Orbits the Sun
• How are they classified? By their orbital period.
• Fun Facts: May travel out of the solar system
for hundreds of years. Sometimes called “dirty
snowballs”.
Asteroids
• Composition: Solid
• Orbit / Location: Usually
orbit the sun in specific
places but a few have
planet-crossing orbits.
• Position in Space: The
Asteroid Belt is a region
between the inner planets
and outer planets where
thousands of asteroids are
found orbiting around the
Sun.
Asteroids
How are they classified? Number of types
according to their spectra (chemical
composition), albedo (The albedo of an
object is the extent to which it reflects
light from the sun), and their position in
the solar system.
Fun Facts: January 1801 – first object
observed that would be classified as an
asteroid.
Asteroid Belt
• More than 7000 asteroids have been
discovered. Several hundred more are
discovered each year. There are
undoubtedly hundreds of thousands more
that are too small to be seen from the Earth.
• The “Main Belt” is between Mars and
Jupiter.
Meteors
• Composition: Solid.
• Orbit / Location: Irregular because they are bits of
material loose in space.
• Position in Space: Asteroid material until they enter
Earth’s atmosphere.
• How are they classified? According to whether they
enter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up or strike
the Earth’s surface.
• Interesting Facts: Most burn up on entry into the
Earth’s atmosphere. These are what we call
shooting stars.
Meteorites
• Composition: Solid.
• Orbit / Location: Irregular because
they are bits of material loose in
space.
• Position in Space: Asteroid
material until they enter Earth’s
atmosphere, at which time they
are called meteoroids.
• How are they classified?
According to whether they enter
the Earth’s atmosphere and burn
up or strike the Earth’s surface.
• Fun Fact: When a meteoroid hits
the ground, it’s called a meteorite.