Download The Nine Planets

(13.14)
The four inner planets (closest to the Sun) are
Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
All four of these planets are made up of a rocky
material and therefore are called the
terrestrial planets.
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun;
Mercury does not have an atmosphere to help
trap the heat it receives from the Sun, so it
loses all of its heat at night dropping to -180
degrees Celsius (oC).
Mercury’s daytime temperature is a sweltering
400 (oC).
Mercury is rarely
seen in our night
sky because it is
so close to the
Sun.
When we do see
Mercury, it is
generally at
sunset and at
sunrise.
After the Sun and the Moon,
Venus is the brightest
object that we can see in
the sky because it is so close
to our planet Earth.
Also, the atmosphere on Venus
is very thick and the light it
receives from the Sun is
reflected to us.
Its atmosphere acts like the
glass of a greenhouse and
keeps the surface of the
planet hot.
The only planet known to sustain life.
Earth’s atmosphere is mainly made up of
nitrogen, oxygen, and water vapour.
There is a small amount of ozone in our
atmosphere and this is what filters some of
the damaging radiation from the Sun.
Water from lakes,
oceans, and rivers
covers approximately
70% of planet Earth.
Earth is changing every
day because of
several environmental
factors such as
volcanoes,
earthquakes, and
pollution.
Mars is one of the
brightest planets in
the sky and is
sometimes referred
to as the “RED Planet”
because of it has
rust-coloured soil.
Mars is very dry and
barren, but there is
evidence that Mars
was once covered with
volcanoes, glaciers and
flood waters.
The remaining 4 planets in our solar system are
known as the outer planets: Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus, and Neptune.
These planets are also known as the Gas Giants.
Their atmosphere consists mainly of hydrogen
and helium. You can not land on any of these
planets.
Jupiter is the largest
planet of all of the
planets.
Jupiter’s most
interesting features
are its coloured bands
and the Great Red
Spot.
Saturn is the second-largest planet.
Saturn’s atmosphere is cloudy and windy.
Uranus’s diameter is 4
times larger than
Earth.
This planet has winds
that blow up to 500
km/h.
From Earth, Neptune is
barely visible with the
use of a telescope.
Neptune has bright blue
and white clouds and a
dark region – the
Great Dark Spot –
that appears to be the
centre of a storm.
Neptune has at least 8
moons and thin rings
orbiting around it.
Closest to
the Sun
0.386
0
Brown crater
Chunks of rock
2nd from
the Sun
0.72
0
Hot enough to
melt lead
CO2, N2
3rd from
the Sun
1
1
Soil and Water
N2, O2
0.5326
2
4th from
the Sun
5th from
the Sun
Reddish
coloured soil
none
CO2, N2
Volcanoes,
glaciers
Winds,
hurricanes
11
63
Coloured Bands,
Great Red Spot
H2, He, CH4
6th from
the Sun
10
33
Surface temp. is
About -180o
H2, He, CH4
7th from
the Sun
4
29
Polar hood over
South pole
H2, He, CH4
8th from
the Sun
3.8
13
0.186
3
9th from
the Sun
It’s blue.
Cold and rocky
59 days
To orbit Sun
A 1.7 KM high
Volcano
Volcanoes,
hurricanes
Windy,
cloudy
500 km/h
winds
H2, He, CH4
Dark spot
none
Rotates on
side
1.
3.
Why are the four planets closest to the Sun
called the “terrestrial planets”?
The word terrestrial refers to Earth. Mercury,
Mars, and Venus have several properties in
common with Earth, so together the four
planets are called the terrestrial planets
Why is Jupiter easy to see in the night sky?
Jupiter is very large, and its atmosphere
reflects a lot of light from the light.
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