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The Solar System
In the beginning…
•In the second century ________________ (Greek) proposed a theory that planets orbited the earth
________________________
•Between 1500 – 1530 __________________________ (Polish) changed the theory to planets
orbiting the sun __________________________
•16th century _________________ proved that the planets orbited in
__________________________________________________ and not complete circles.
•________________________ explained planet motion as a result of
_________________________________________________ Gravity keeps them close to the sun
and inertia keeps them moving.
Rotation versus Revolution
•Rotation – the time it takes a planet to make a complete circle on its own axis. (Equal to one day on
that planet)
•Revolution – the time it takes a planet to circle the sun completely. (equal to one year on that
planet)
•Do all planets have a day that is 24 hours and a year that is 365 days?
Definition of a Planet
Definition of a planet: A planet must be: _____________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________ clearing the
immediate region of smaller objects.
•Mercury – _______________, almost no atmosphere, sun is 9 times closer, moves around the sun
____________________ than all other planets. Year = 88 days. ____________________________.
Mercury has changed very little in the last billion years. Cliffs and plains from past volcanic eruptions.
All volcanoes now dormant. Day = 175 Earth days. Temp. range 427°C to –170°C. No satellites
•Venus – _____________________________ planet. Atmosphere is mostly
___________________________________ and mostly thick cloud cover. Winds 350 km/hr. Always
__________________. Deep canyons, vast plains. Mountains as tall as those on Earth. Huge
channel some believe was once an ocean. ________________________________________ (sun
rises in west…) Day = 243 earth days. Year = 224 earth days. Scientists believe ocean dried up due
to _______________________________. No satellites
EARTH
•A year on Earth is exactly 365.26 days. This is the reason for a leap year every four years.
_________________________ are caused by the ________________________________________
on its own axis. When the N hemisphere is tilted toward the sun it is summer for us; when the S
hemisphere is tilted toward the sun it is their summer. During an equinox (spring/fall) neither is tilted
toward the sun. 1 satellite we have named ___________
EARTH’S Satellite
•The moon is 3476 km in diameter. Its diameter is ¼ the size of Earth’s.
______________________________________. It is dry, airless, and barren. Noon is about 100°C
or higher, night is –175°C. Has dark areas (plains) called maria and highlands up to 8 km. Its largest
crater is called __________________________________ and is 91 km wide. Evidence of having
volcanoes once.
•Mars – ________________ in color, has _____________________________ Phobos and Deimos
meaning fear and terror. Rocks found in Antarctica had live bacteria comparable to our bacteria. Has
an enormous ___________________________________________________________________ (3
times size of Mt. Everest). Windstorms that are up to 200 km/hr. ________________ from these
storms ____________________________________________________.
•Jupiter – _________________________________________________.
Composed of
______________ and ________________. ____________– low, dark colored clouds.
______________ – high, lightly colored clouds. Red Spot is a hurricane like storm that has been
rotating for more than 300 years. Has ___satellites. Has rings
•Saturn – made mostly of _______________________________________.
Has ammonia ice near
top of its clouds. Has _____ known satellites, giant one is named Titan. May have methane (gas,
liquid, and solid “ice”) similar to water on earth. Has complex ring system
•Uranus – discovered in 1781.
___________ in color. Has _____ satellites, 2 big ones named
Oberon and Titania. Has _____ rings. Because it is
________________________________________; each pole spends 42 Earth years in darkness and
42 years in sunlight. It has a ____________________________________________ of –215°C
because of its atmosphere. Scientists think a large objects gravity may be pulling Uranus on its side
•Neptune – discovered in 1846.
Slightly smaller than Uranus but same ______________ color.
Considered the twin giants. Has clouds and belts like other gas giants. Once had a great dark spot
like Jupiter but it disappeared in 1994. Has _____ satellites, largest is Triton. Has
____________________ geysers. Also, has a ___________________________________________
•Pluto – discovered in 1930.
Named after the Roman god for the underworld. Pluto is a little more
than moon-sized and may be an escaped moon of Neptune. Now considered a _____________
planet. It has a satellites named Charon that is roughly the same size as Pluto. “Pluto is a chunk of
ice which controls nothing, its orbit is a slave to Neptune’s”.
•Planet X and more – Scientists have found many dwarf planets in the Kuiper Belt beyond Pluto.
They think a planet or object in this belt is pulling Uranus on its side. Could be the sister star to the
sun because most stars are in pairs. Rarely are they single.
ASTEROID BELT
•The ________________________________ is located between Mars and Jupiter.
•______________________ – chunk of metal/stone that orbits the sun. (millions enter our
atmosphere daily)
•______________________ – streak of light that is produced by a burning meteoroid.
•______________________ – a meteor that strikes the Earth’s surface.
•______________: another dwarf planets orbits in this area