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Planets, Moons and Stars
Our solar system is the system of planets
and other objects that orbit our sun.
There are eight planets and many
moons. Along with asteroids, comets,
meteoroids and tiny particles of rocks and
dust. The sun, which is actually a star, is
the largest object in the solar system and
holds everything in place by its gravity. It
contains about 99% of the mass of the
solar system.
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A planet is a body that is in orbit
around the Sun, has enough mass for its
self-gravity to overcome forces (nearly
round) shape, and clears the
neighborhood around its orbit.
Planet order (closest to the sun to
furthest):
MERCURY
VENUS
EARTH
MARS
JUPITOR
SATURN
URANUS
NEPTUNE
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Position: Closest planet to the Sun.
Atmosphere: Like Earth’s moon, very little.
Landscape: Many craters, a little ice. Cliffs and
valleys present.
Temperatures: Super-heated by the sun in the
day. At night temperatures reach hundreds of
degrees below freezing. (Not as warm as you
would think).
Year (Full rotation around the sun): 88 days.
Moons: 0
Rings: 0
Position: 2nd planet from the sun.
Atmosphere: Thick enough to trap heat,
hurricane winds, lightning, and acid clouds.
Landscape: Volcanoes and deformed mountains.
Temperatures: Intense heat.
Year (Full rotation around the sun): 225 Earth
days.
Moons: 0
Rings: 0
 Position:
3rd planet from the sun.
 Atmosphere: Suitable air pressure to
have life. Air is made of oxygen.
 Landscape: The only planet that has
liquid on the surface, rocky, land
formations.
 Temperatures: Suitable for life. Ranges
from locations on Earth.
 Year (Full rotation around the sun): 365
Earth days.
 Moons: 1
 Rings: 0
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Position: 4th planet from the sun.
Atmosphere: Thinner air than Earth.
Landscape: Frozen water below the
surface, rocky, dusty, and has craters.
Temperatures: Like Earth, but drier
and colder
Year (Full rotation around the sun):
687 Earth days.
Moons: 2
Rings: 0
Midnight
sun on
Mars
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Position: 5th
planet from the
sun.
Atmosphere:
Colorful clouds,
until it is squished
unto liquid. Cold
and windy, giant
storms.
Landscape: Thick
super hot soup.
Temperatures:
Extremely cold at
clouds. Extremely
hot and cold
radiation.
Year (Full rotation
around the sun):
12 Earth years.
Moons: 62
Rings: 3
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Position: 7th planet from the sun.
Atmosphere: Composed mostly of gas with
no solid surface. Cloud strips.
Landscape: No solid surfaces, high
pressures turn gas into liquids.
Temperatures: Rings made out of water ice,
really cold.
Year (Full rotation around the sun): 30
Earth years.
Moons: 61
Rings: 7 division ring system
Position: 7th planet from the sun.
 Atmosphere: Gets thicker and
thicker, until it is squished unto
liquid. Cold and windy.
 Landscape: Layer of superheated
water and gases that form bright
clouds.
 Temperatures: Extremely cold at
cloud tops and superheated
towards the center.
 Year (Full rotation around the
sun): 84 Earth years.
 Moons: 27
 Rings: 11
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Position: Furthest from the sun (Cannot
see without a microscope). 8th planet.
Atmosphere: Very Windy, cold clouds, a
layer of methane gas (giving it a blue
color), storms as large Earth.
Landscape: Scientist think it may have an
ocean of super hot lava.
Temperatures: Cold
Year (Full rotation around the sun): 165
Earth years.
Moons: 13
Rings: 6
Think of Pluto as
Disney’s dog, NOT a
planet!
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Pluto is NOT considered
a planet anymore!
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It is classified as a dwarf
planet.
Temperatures: Extremely
cold, covered with frost.
Year (Full rotation around
the sun): 248 Earth years.
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Moons: 3
Pluto is very hard to see,
if with a really powerful
microscope.
The
sun is a star.
A ball of hot glowing gases.
It gets hotter as you go
deeper.
Central force that has a high
influence on planets orbits.
Without the sun’s energy and
heat there would be no life on
Earth.
Stabilizes Earth.
 Our moon is covered in craters and has no
atmosphere.
 No gravity and no air.
 Very hot and very cold temperatures.
 Pieces of equipment lie on the moon-things like
the American flag!
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Fake-coloring
to show
landscape
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New Moon - The Moon's un-illuminated side is facing the
Earth. The Moon is not visible (except during a solar
eclipse).
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Waxing Crescent - The Moon appears to be partly but
less than one-half illuminated by direct sunlight. The
fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is
increasing.
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First Quarter - One-half of the Moon appears to be
illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's
disk that is illuminated is increasing.
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Waxing Gibbous - The Moon appears to be more than
one-half but not fully illuminated by direct sunlight. The
fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is
increasing.
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Full Moon - The Moon's
illuminated side is facing the
Earth. The Moon appears to be
completely illuminated by direct
sunlight.
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Waning Gibbous - The Moon
appears to be more than one-half
but not fully illuminated by direct
sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's
disk that is illuminated is
decreasing.
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Last Quarter - One-half of the
Moon appears to be illuminated by
direct sunlight. The fraction of the
Moon's disk that is illuminated is
decreasing.
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Waning Crescent - The Moon
appears to be partly but less than
one-half illuminated by direct
sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's
disk that is illuminated is
decreasing.
In-Class Moon Phase Cookie Project
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A star is a huge, shining ball in space that produces a large
amount of light and energy.
Stars come in many sizes.
About 75% are apart of groups that orbit each other.
They are grouped in large structures called galaxies. (Milky
Way).
Stars have life-cycles like humans.
A stars color depends on surface temperature.
Constellations are groupings of stars that make an
imaginary image in the night sky. They have been
named after mythological characters, people,
animals and objects. In different parts of the world,
people have made up different shapes out of the
same groups of bright stars. It is like a game of
connecting the dots. In the past constellations have
became useful for navigating at night and for
keeping track of the seasons.
Constellation Project
 Choose your favorite constellation.
 Research your constellation.
 Make a poster including the
constellation name, your myth and
the actual myth, and mapping of
stars.
 The writing portion should be two
paragraphs long. One for your
made-up myth, the other for a real
myth.
 Don’t forget to proofread your
paragraphs! 
 We will be working on the projects
and presenting them in class.
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What is the solar system?
How many planets do we currently have?
Draw a diagram of planet placement and list the
planets in order from the closest to the furthest
from the sun.
Can you list the characteristics of planet Earth?
What are the phases of the moon? (Draw a picture
to help in explanation).
Can a star die?
What were constellations used for?
What is the sun?
Bill Nye Science Video Clip
1. Pick a constellation to work on in
class next week.
2. Keep your moon journal, observe
the moon phases throughout the
week and record them.
Remember to draw the moon
phase and write a paragraph on
your observations.
3. Study the solar system!
4. Answer PowerPoint questions.
Educational information is provided from
the following sources:

Ambrose, Elisabeth. “Misson to Mars: Project Based Learning.”
University of Texas. Web. 18 October 2009.
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“An Overview of the Universe.” Student WebPages and
Assignments: GWIT.org. Web. 17 October 2009.
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Harvey, Samantha. “Solar System Exploration.” NASA. 18
October 2009. Web. 19 October 2009.
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Mena-Werth, Jane and Jose. “Astronomy Activities.” University
of Nebraska. Web. 17 October 2009.
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Harvey, Samantha. “Solar System Exploration.” NASA. 18
October 2009. Web. 19 October 2009.
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“Solar System.” Instructors Web. 2002-2009. Web. 18 October
2009.
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“Space.” New Scientist. 18 October 2009. Web. 18 October
2009.
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Whitlock, Laura A. “The Solar System.” Starchild. Web. 17
October 2009.
http://scienceclass.ning.com
 http://www.astronomycast.com
 http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart
 http://www.toonpool.com/cartoons
 http://www.cartoonstock.com
 http://anitadiminuta.com/images
 http://asymptotia.com
 http://www.thelivingmoon.com
 http://offthemark.com
 http://thumbs.dreamstime.com
 http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/images/Jupiter.gif
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