Download The Solar System

The Solar System
11th Grade Astronomy
Mr. Gonzales
Before we begin, you must
complete the following pre-test!
**You will be required to complete this test again when you
are done, so please be sure to take it seriously.
Now let’s get started!
We will explore the following…
- The Seasons of the Earth
- Day and Night
- You will even have a chance to go to Space
School for an introductory to the Solar System
and each planet.
- The Inner Planets
- The Outer Planets
- Stars, Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors
*At anytime, you can hit the
to come back to this page
and navigate through the PowerPoint with the
hyperlinks.
What are the Seasons of the Earth?
-
Fall
Spring
Winter
Summer
What causes the Earth to have
seasons?
The seasons of the Earth are caused by the
following:
- The revolution of Earth around the sun.
- The tilt of Earth’s axis.
- The intensity of sunlight on each region.
- The angle of sunlight as it reaches Earth’s
surface.
Confused? Maybe this will help.
• Watch this video or further your
reading.
• Perform this experiment at home.
Almost any soft, round object can
work.
What causes day and night?
• Day and night are caused by the rotation of
the Earth on its axis.
• These links provide a more in depth
explanation that may help.
• Keep in mind, that one Earth rotation takes 24
hours.
Now, lets learn about each planet in
our Solar System
• As you follow the information links to the planets,
please be sure to take note of the orbit, rotation,
atmosphere, and natural satellites of each planet.
• Let’s take a trip to Space School! Watch this video
to get started.
• Now lets move on!
What are the eight planets in our
Solar System?
• The planets are:
– Mercury
– Venus
– Earth
– Mars
– Jupiter
– Saturn
– Uranus
– Neptune
»Follow each link to go to Space School,
provided by Science.Discovery.com.
Having trouble remembering the order
of the planets?
• Just use this acronym:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
My (Mercury)
Very (Venus)
Eager (Earth)
Mother (Mars)
Just (Jupiter)
Sent (Saturn)
Us (Uranus)
Nachos (Neptune)
» If you wish, you can follow each link to the
planet’s information slide. Continue to the
next slide to learn about the Inner Planets.
So what are the four inner planets?
• The four inner planets in order from the sun
are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
• Each of the planets can be seen here.
• The inner planets are relatively close to the
sun, and all are very dense and rocky. Three of
four of them have the atmosphere to produce
weather.
What is Mercury like?
• Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar
system, and is closest to the sun.
• Because of its proximity to the sun, temperatures
can rise to as high as 806 degrees Fahrenheit!
• Mercury has a gray cratered surface which
resembles that of the moon.
• Read here to find out all about Mercury.
Mercury is pretty cool. Here’s why…
• One day on Mercury can be both 59 days long and 156
days long.
• There may be ice on Mercury. Although it is a sunbaked planet, there are regions of the planet that have
never been heated.
• The European Space Agency is working on a mission to
Mercury called BepiColumbo. 2 space probles will orbit
the planet.
• Read here for 14 things you never knew about
Mercury!
What about Venus?
• Venus is the second planet from the sun, and is
known as the Morning star or Evening star.
• The surface of Venus is covered by volcanoes. As
many as 167 volcanoes cover the surface, each
100 kilometers across!
• Venus has a yellow atmosphere full of carbon
dioxide and clouds of sulfur dioxide.
• Read more about Venus!
Venus is a crazy planet…
• The surface of Venus is often described as quite hellish.
• The thick clouds of Sulfur Dioxide produce the strongest
greenhouse effect in the Solar System, making the surface
of Venus hotter than that of Mercury.
• Atmospheric pressure is 92 times that of Earth. Standing on
the Surface of Venus would be like going a kilometer
underneath the surface of the ocean!
• Here are some interesting facts. You would enjoy to read
more!
You think you know Earth?
• Earth is the third planet from the sun.
• Earth is the only planet in the solar system known to
have life.
• Million of species live on Earth, and 71% of the surface
is covered by water.
• Our atmosphere is composed of Nitrogen and Oxygen,
and has a protective ozone layer to block out the Sun’s
harmful rays. Read more to learn about your home
planet.
Facts about planet Earth
• Earth formed approximately 4.54 billion years ago, and
life appeared on its surface within 1 billion years.
• Earth is the densest and largest of the 8 planets in the
solar system.
• The planet is expected to support life for at least
another 500 million years.
• Here are some cool facts about your home planet
Earth.
What about Mars?
• Mars is the fourth planet from the sun.
• Iron oxide on the surface of Mars give the
planet its reddish appearance.
• There are volcanoes, craters, deserts, and
polar ice caps, all on the surface of Mars.
• In 2008, the Phoenix lander directly sampled
ice water from the surface. Read more about
the famous red planet.
Crazy facts about Mars
• Mars has about a third of Earth’s gravity, which means
you could jump about 3 times as high on Mars
compared to Earth.
• Only 1/3 of missions to Mars have been successful.
Scientists are led to believe that something strange is
happening, like a Bermuda Triangle effect.
• Mars has two moons, and one is going to crash into it.
Read more!
What are the four outer planets?
• Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are the
four outer planets.
• They can each be seen here.
• The outer planets are separated from the inner
planets by an asteroid belt.
• Each of the outer planets is mainly composed of
gas, and each has over a dozen moons.
What role does Jupiter play?
• Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun in the solar
system, and is the first of the outer planets.
• Jupiter is a gas giant and has two and half times
the mass of all other planets combined.
• Jupiter is composed of Hydrogen, and a quarter
of its composition is helium.
• Jupiter has a planetary ring system composed of
dust. Read more here!
Lets learn more about Jupiter…
• The Earth can fit inside of Jupiter more than 1000
times.
• The giant red spot on Jupiter is called “The Eye of
Jupiter” and is where a giant storm has been
raging for at least 300 years.
• Jupiter has 63 official moons and 12 unofficial
moons.
• It only takes 10 hours to go from day to night on
Jupiter. Read more here about this bizarre planet!
What is Saturn like?
• Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun, and is the
second outer planet.
• Saturn is also a gas giant, and is the second largest
planet next to Jupiter.
• It is assumed that Saturn has a similar internal
structure to that of Jupiter, and is composed of
Hydrogen and Helium.
• Saturn is approximately 30% less dense than water.
Read more about this gas giant!
Some interesting things about Saturn…
• Saturn has around 60 moons.
• Scientists suspect that there is life near Saturn. Ice
geysers have been discovered on one of Saturn’s moons,
Enceladus.
• Saturn spins so quickly on its axis that the planet flattens
itself out. Ready more about this craziness!
Which planet is next?
• Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun, and is
the third of the outer planets.
• Uranus is considered an ice giant.
• Uranus is made of various ices, such as water,
ammonia, and methane, and has an atmosphere
of Hydrogen and Helium.
• Uranus also has a ring system, and numerous
moons. Read more about this interesting planet!
Fun facts about Uranus
• Uranus is the coldest planet in the Solar
System.
• Uranus is turned over on its side as it rotates,
almost like a ball rolling on its side.
• Summer lasts for 42 years on Uranus.
• Uranus has only been visited once. Read more
and see why!
Which planet is furthest from the sun?
• Neptune is the eighth planet from the sun, and is the
furthest.
• Neptune’s is a ball of ice and gas, and is also
considered an ice giant.
• Neptune’s atmosphere is composed of Hydrogen and
Helium (similar to Jupiter and Saturn).
• Neptune’s climate is characterized by extreme storms,
with winds up to 600 miles per second. Read more
about this intense weather!
A few crazy things about Uranus
• Hurricanes on Uranus have winds of up to
2000 km/per hour.
• Neptune’s moon Triton is even colder, at 235
degrees Celsius.
• Unfortunately, as of now, there are no plans to
visit Neptune again. Read more about why
NASA has made this decision.
You may have learned when you were
a child that Pluto is a planet…
But Pluto is not considered a planet anymore.
It turns out that there are countless celestial
objects in orbit with Pluto that are the same
size. Pluto is not a dominant gravitational
body in the Solar System. Because of this, it is
a Dwarf Plant. You can learn more about this
recent change here.
As you gaze into the night sky, what
celestial objects do you see?
Lets take a moment to learn about the
stars, asteroids, and comets.
What is a star?
• A star is a luminous ball of plasma held
together by gravity.
• The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is
the source of most energy on Earth.
• Read and view images of stars and
constellations by following these links.
Ever wonder the difference between
an asteroid and a comet?
VS.
Asteroid
Comet
Let’s find out.
What is an asteroid?
• Asteroids are rocky remains from the
formation of the solar system.
• Asteroids orbit the sun, and range from a few
hundred feet in diameter to a few hundred
miles.
• Follow the tutorial about asteroids from
National Geographic.
What is a comet?
• Comets are cold chunks of rock and dusty ice
leftover from the formation of the Solar System.
• A mix of gas and dust is pushed away from the
comet by solar winds. So as the comet passes the
sun and vaporizes, a long tail called a coma is
formed.
• Follow the tutorial and learn more about comets
from National Geographic.
How likely is it that an asteroid will
crash into planet Earth?
• What this video,
provided to us by the
Discovery Channel.
• Or you may think you
have it all figured out
from Hollywood
movies… Check out this
video.
What is a meteor?
• A meteor is a sand to boulder sized object that
is a piece of debris in the Solar system.
• A meteor that reaches Earth’s surface is called
a meteorite.
• Read more about a meteor here! You wouldn’t
want to get it confused with a comet or
asteroid either.
Almost done…
Please take this post test to review the Solar
System and reinforce learning.
**Please be sure to bring your new answers to class for discussion.