Download Chapter 7 – Our Planetary System 7.1 Studying the Solar System

Chapter 7 – Our Planetary System
7.1 Studying the Solar System
What does the solar system look like?
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There are ___________ major planets with nearly circular orbits.
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Pluto and Eris are smaller than the major planets and have more elliptical orbits – these are
called _______________ _________________.
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Planets mostly orbit in same _______________ (counterclockwise) and nearly in same
__________________.
What can we learn by comparing the planets to one another?
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Comparing the planets reveals patterns among them.
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Those patterns provide insights that help us understand our own planet.
Similarities/Differences
Terrestrial Planets -
Gas Giants
What are the major features of the Sun and planets?
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Planets are very tiny compared to distances between them.
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Over 99.9% of solar system’s ___________________
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Made mostly of ____________________________ gas (plasma)
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Converts 4 million tons of mass into ________________________ each second
Sun
Mercury
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Made of _____________________________; large iron core
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Desolate, _________________________; long, tall, steep cliffs; no _______________________
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Very hot and very cold: 425C or 800 F(day), –170C or -275 F (night)
Venus
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Nearly identical in __________________ to Earth; surface hidden by clouds
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Hellish conditions due to an extreme ______________________________________________
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Even __________________ than Mercury: 470C or 880 F, day and night
Earth
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Only planet with ___________________ (so far)
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The only surface ____________________________ water in the solar system
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A surprisingly __________________________ moon
Mars
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A thin atmosphere but you can’t breathe it – no ________________________
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Giant volcanoes, a huge canyon, polar caps, more
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Liquid water flowed in distant past; could there have been life?
Jupiter
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Much _____________________ from Sun than inner planets
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Mostly _____________________________; no solid surface
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300 times more _____________________ than Earth
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Many _______________, ______________________
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Jupiter’s 4 largest moons are called ____________________moons
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Io: active ________________________all over
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Europa: possible subsurface _______________________
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Ganymede: ________________________moon in solar system
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Callisto: a large, cratered “_________________________________”
Saturn
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_____________________ and _________________ like Jupiter
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Many moons, including cloudy _____________________, the only moon with an atmosphere
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Spectacular __________________
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Rings are ________________________; they are made of countless small chunks of ice
and rock, each orbiting like a tiny moon.
The Cassini probe has been orbiting and studying Saturn since 2004
Uranus
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Smaller than Jupiter/Saturn; much larger than Earth
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Made of H/He gas and hydrogen compounds (H2O, NH3, CH4)
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Extreme axis _______________
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Also has ___________ and _________________
Neptune
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Similar to Uranus (except for axis tilt)
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Many moons (including Triton)
Pluto and other dwarf planets
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Much __________________ than major planets
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Icy, comet-like composition
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Orbit the sun but on a ________________________________ than the “regular” planets