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NOTES – THE PLANETS
GENERAL INFORMATION ON MERCURY
 Mercury is the planet ___________________________________________________________.
 Small, rocky ______________________________________.
 Mercury has a very elliptical orbit and a ______________________________________.
 During the long daytime - ________________________________ the temperature is hotter than an oven
during the night, the temperature is colder than a freezer.
 Mercurian _________________________________________
 Mercury is so close to the Sun that you can ______________
____________________________________
 Mercury is a _______________________________; its surface is similar
to the surface of our Moon.
SIZE
 Mercury is _________________________________in diameter. It is the
__________________________ in our solar system
 Mercury is _________________________ than the Earth's ___________.
MASS AND GRAVITY
 Mercury's mass is about _________________________________.
 The gravity on Mercury is 38% of the gravity on Earth. A 100 pound
person _______________________________________.
 What would you weigh on Mercury?
ATMOSPHERE
 Mercury's thin atmosphere consists of trace amounts of
_________________________________________. Much less than the
atmospheric pressure on earth.
 Since the atmosphere is so slight, the sky would appear
____________________________________.
MERCURY'S ORBIT AND DISTANCE FROM THE SUN
 Mercury is closest planet to our Sun and the ___________________________ in our Solar System.
 Mercury is just over a third as far from the sun as the Earth
is; it is 0.387 A.U. from the sun (on average).
 Mercury's orbit is ______________________; at aphelion
(____________________________________) Mercury is 70
million km from the sun, at perihelion Mercury
_________________________ from the sun.
 There are _______________________ on Mercury. Since
Mercury's axis is directly perpendicular to its motion (not
tilted), it has no seasons.
MOONS
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
___________________________________________.
SPACECRAFT VISITS
 Mercury was visited by NASA's Mariner 10 in 1973 and 1974.
_____________________________ was mapped by this spacecraft.
This is the
symbol of the
planet
Mercury.
MERCURY'S NAME AND SYMBOL
 Mercury was named after Mercury, the ________________________
winged messenger and ___________________________ to the underworld. It was named for the
speedy Mercury because ___________________________ ___________________________.
GENERAL INFORMATION ON VENUS
 Venus is the __________________________________ in our solar system.
 It is the __________________________ in our Solar System.
 This planet is covered with fast-moving _______________________________ which trap heat from the
Sun. Its _______________________________________________________.
 Venus has an iron core but only a ______________________________________. This is a planet on which
a person would _____________________________________________, be cooked in the extremely high
heat, and be _________________________________________________ pressure.
 Venus is also known as the "______________________" or the "evening
star" since it is visible and quite bright at either dawn or dusk.
SIZE

Venus is about 7,521 miles (12,104 km) in diameter. Venus is the
______________________________________ and mass of any of the
other planets.
MASS AND GRAVITY
 Venus' mass is about 4.87 x 1024 kg. A 100-pound person
________________________________.
 The density of Venus is 5,240 kg/m3, _________________________________________ and the third
densest planet in our Solar System
LENGTH OF A DAY AND YEAR ON VENUS
 Each day on Venus __________________________________. It takes 224.7 Earth days for Venus to
__________________________________. The same side of Venus always faces Earth when the Earth and
Venus are closest together.
VENUS' ORBIT AND DISTANCE FROM THE SUN
 Venus is ____________________________ miles from the sun. Venus has an
___________________________. On average, Venus is 0.72 AU, 67,230,000 miles = 108,200,000 km
from the sun.
 Venus rotates in ___________________________________ (and the other planets). Looking from the
north, Venus rotates clockwise, while the other planets rotate _____________________________. From
Venus, the Sun would seem to __________________________________________ (the opposite of Earth).
TEMPERATURE ON VENUS
 Venus is ________________________________________. Its
cloud cover traps the heat of the sun (the greenhouse effect),
giving Venus temperatures ___________________. The
_______________________ on Venus is 726 K (452°C).
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MOONS
 ______________________________________.
FIRST SPACECRAFT TO REACH VENUS
 Venera 3 (from the U.S.S.R.) was the first manmade object to reach Venus. This Soviet spacecraft was
launched on November 16, 1965.
VENUS' NAME AND SYMBOL
 Venus was named after _______________________________
This is the symbol of the
planet Venus.
INTRODUCTION TO THE EARTH
 The Earth is the _____________________________________in our Solar
System. It is the planet we evolved on and the only planet in our Solar
System ____________________________________________.
SIZE
 The Earth is about _________________________in diameter. The Earth is the
_______________________________ in our Solar System.
THE MOON
 The Earth has one moon. The diameter of the moon is about one
_____________________________________________.
MASS, DENSITY, AND ESCAPE VELOCITY
 The Earth's mass is about 5.98 x 1024 kg.
 The Earth has an average density of 5520 kg/m3 (water has a density of 1027 kg/m3). Earth is the
________________________________________________________________.
 To escape the Earth's gravitational pull, an object must reach a _____________________________ miles per
hour .
LENGTH OF A DAY AND YEAR ON EARTH
 Each day on Earth ________________________. Each year
on Earth takes ____________________________.
 The Earth's rotation is ____________________________ over
time, about one second every 10 years.
THE EARTH'S ORBIT
 On average, the Earth orbits, __________________ miles
(149,600,000 km) from the Sun. The Earth is closest to the
Sun ____________________________ (91.4 million miles =
147.1 million km); it is farthest away from the Sun
_________________________________ (94.8 million miles =
152.6 million km).
Orbital Eccentricity
 The Earth has an orbit that ________________________________; its orbital eccentricity is 0.017.
 Eccentricity is a measure of how an orbit deviates from circular. A perfectly circular orbit has an eccentricity
of zero; an eccentricity ______________________________________ an elliptical orbit.
THE EARTH'S AXIS TILT AND THE SEASONS
 The Earth's axis is tilted from perpendicular to the _____________________________________. This tilting
is what gives us the _______________________________________________.
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SPEED


At the equator, the _____________________________ moves 40,000 kilometers in 24 hours. That is a
speed of about _________________________. As you move toward either pole, this speed
_____________________________________.
The Earth revolves around the Sun at a speed of __________________________.
TEMPERATURE ON EARTH
 The temperature on Earth ____________________________________________________.
 The greenhouse effect traps heat in our atmosphere.
ATMOSPHERE
 The Earth's atmosphere is a _________________________________ that surrounds the Earth.
 The atmosphere was formed by planetary degassing, a process in which gases like carbon dioxide, water
vapor, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen were released from the interior of the Earth from volcanoes and
other processes.
INTRODUCTION TO MARS “THE RED PLANET”
 Mars, the red planet, is _________________________________ and
the most ___________________ planet in our solar system.
MARS' SURFACE
 The surface of Mars is __________________________________
________________________. There are low-lying plains in the
northern hemisphere, but the southern hemisphere is dotted with
_____________________. The ground is frozen; this
_________________________ extends for several kilometers.
 The north and south poles of Mars are
_______________________________________________ and
water.
 Scientists have long thought that there is no liquid water on the
surface of Mars now, but recent photos from Mars indicate that
________________________________________ _____________.
The surface of Mars shows much evidence of the effects of
_________________________ upon the landscape.
 Scientists think that most of the water on Mars is frozen in the
land (as permafrost) and frozen in the polar ice caps.
SIZE
 Mars is about 4,222 miles (6790 km) in diameter. This is _____________________________________ of
the diameter of the Earth.
MASS AND GRAVITY
 Mars' mass is about 6.42 x 10^23 kg. __________________________________________. A 100-pound
person on Mars would weigh 38 pounds.
LENGTH OF A DAY AND YEAR ON MARS
 Each day on Mars ___________________________________. A
year on Mars takes _______________________________.
MARS' ORBIT
 It averages 141.6 million miles from the sun. Mars has the
_____________________________________ of any planet in our
Solar System except Pluto.
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ATMOSPHERE
 Mars has a _________________________________. It contains no oxygen.
 The atmospheric pressure is __________________________________________________ and it varies
greatly throughout the year.
 Occasionally, _____________________________________________________. Most of these clouds are
composed of carbon dioxide ice crystals or, less frequently, of frozen water crystals.
TEMPERATURE RANGE
 Mars' surface temperature averages -81 °F. The temperature ranges from a high of ___________
___________________________.
MARS' MOONS
 Mars has 2 tiny moons__________________________. They are thought to _______________________
were pulled into orbit around Mars.
SPACECRAFT VISITS
 __________________________________ spacecraft to visit Mars (in 1965). There have been many types of
spacecrafts to date and there are currently five collecting information on Mars.
MARS' NAME AND SYMBOL
Mars was named after ____________________________________.
This is the symbol of the
planet Mars.
Jupiter the Giant
 Jupiter is the ____________________________________ in our solar system.
 This gas giant has a thick atmosphere, 39 known moons, and ______________________________. Its
most prominent features are bands across its latitudes
_____________________________________).
 Jupiter is composed _______________________. This enormous planet radiates twice as
much heat as _____________________________________. It also has an extremely strong
magnetic field. It is slightly flattened at its poles and it bulges out
______________________________________.
SIZE
 Jupiter's diameter is 88,700 miles (142,800 km). This is a little more ______________________
______________________________________________.
o Jupiter is so big that all the other planets in our Solar System could ________________
____________________________________________
MASS AND GRAVITY
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
Although it is _______________________________ of the Earth, the gravity on Jupiter is only
________________________________ on Earth. This is because Jupiter is such a large planet (and the
gravitational force a planet exerts upon an object at the planet's surface is proportional to its mass and to
the inverse of its radius squared).
A 100-pound person ____________________________.
LENGTH OF A DAY AND YEAR ON JUPITER
 It takes _________________________ to revolve around its axis (this is a
Jovian day).
 It takes _________________________ for Jupiter to orbit the sun once.
 Jupiter is ______________________________, so as it rotates, its parts do
not rotate at ___________________________________.
JUPITER'S ORBIT
 Jupiter is _____________________________________________ than the
Earth.
 At aphelion, Jupiter is 815,700,000 km from the Sun.
 ______________________________________. Seasons are caused by a tilted axis, and
___________________________________________________ - not enough to cause seasons.
JUPITER'S MOONS
 ______________________________________ dozens of smaller ones. It has _______________ known so
far.
RINGS

_________________________________
composed of tiny rock fragments and dust.
TEMPERATURE RANGE
 While the center of the planet is very hot,
the ____________________ ___________.
Ice clouds can often be seen.
SPACECRAFT VISITS
 Jupiter was first
________________________________,
which flew by Jupiter in 1973.
JUPITER'S NAME AND SYMBOL
 Jupiter was named after the ______________________________
This is the symbol of the
planet Jupiter.
GENERAL INFORMATION ON SATURN
 Saturn is the _______________________________________ in our solar system.
 It is
_______________________________________ in
our solar system.
 It has beautiful rings that are
____________________________ that range in
size from the size of a fingernail to
__________________________________.
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SIZE AND SHAPE
 Saturn is ______________________ the diameter ________________. ________Earths could fit inside a
hollowed-out Saturn.
 Saturn is the most ________________ _________ planet in our Solar System. It has a equatorial diameter
__________________ (at the cloud tops) and a polar diameter of 67,560 miles. This is
______________________________ Saturn's flattened shape is probably caused by its fast
_____________________________________________.
RINGS


__________________________________ are only visible from Earth using a telescope.
____________________________________________ in the 17th century.
Saturn's bright rings are made of ice chunks (and some rocks) that range in size from the size of a
fingernail to the size of a car. Although the rings are extremely wide ______________________________,
they are very thin (about ___ miles).
MASS, GRAVITY AND DENSITY
 Although this ________________________________________, the
gravity on Saturn is only 1.08 times the gravity on Earth. This is
because ___________________________________.
 A 100 pound person would only weigh ______________ on
Saturn.
 Saturn is the only planet in our Solar System that is
_____________________________________.
LENGTH OF A DAY AND YEAR ON SATURN
 Each day on Saturn __________________________.
 A year on Saturn _____________________________.
ORBIT AND DISTANCE FROM THE SUN
 Saturn is 9.539 AU, on average, from the sun, ______________________________ from the Sun as the
Earth is.
TEMPERATURE ON SATURN
 The _________________________________________ (at the cloud tops) is -290° F.
MOONS
 Saturn has dozens of moons ____________________________________. It has 18 named moons.
Including _______________________, Rhea, Iapetus, Dione, Tethys, Enceladus, Mimas, Hyperion,
Phoebe, Janus, Epimetheus, Pandora, Prometheus, Helene, Telesto, Atlas, Calypso, and
_____________________ ___________________________. At least ___________________ others have
been noted (but not named yet).
SPACECRAFT VISITS
 Saturn has been visited by ____________________
SATURN'S NAME AND SYMBOL
 Saturn was named for the
_____________________________________.
This is the symbol of the
planet Saturn.
GENERAL INFORMATION ON URANUS
 Uranus is the ____________________________ the sun in our solar system.
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This huge, icy planet is covered with clouds and is encircled by ____________________________________.
Uranus' blue color is _______________________________ in its atmosphere; this molecule absorbs red
light.
ROTATIONAL AXIS
 Uranus' rotational axis is _____________________________________.
 Instead of rotating with its axis roughly perpendicular to the plane of its orbit, ______________
________________________________________
 This tipped rotational axis _____________________________________ on Uranus.
o Because of its almost-perpendicular axis orientation, there is a debate over which of Uranus' poles
________________________________.
 This debates leads to yet another: ________________________________________ (like
Venus) or not (like the other planets)?
SIZE
 Uranus is about 31,690 miles in diameter. This is about ________________________________ the
diameter of the Earth.
 This gas giant is the _________________________ in our Solar System.

MASS AND GRAVITY
 This is about __________________________ of the Earth.
 The gravity on Uranus is _______________________________ on Earth.
This is because it is such a large planet.
 A 100-pound person on Uranus
_______________________________________.
LENGTH OF A DAY AND YEAR ON URANUS
 Each day on Uranus takes ____________________ hours. A year on
Uranus takes __________________________ years.
URANUS' ORBIT AND DISTANCE FROM THE SUN
 Uranus is over _________________________ from the Sun as the Earth is; it averages 19.18 A.U.
 At aphelion it is 1,850,000,000 miles from the Sun. At perihelion it is 1,700,000,000 miles from the Sun.
TEMPERATURE
 The mean temperature on the surface of Uranus' _______________________________ . Uranus radiates
very little heat in comparison with the _________________________________.
PLANETARY COMPOSITION AND ATMOSPHERE
 Uranus is a frozen, _________________________________________. Uranus' atmosphere consists of 83%
hydrogen, 15% helium and 2% methane.
RINGS
 Uranus has a belt of 11 faint, narrow rings ______________________________________. They circle
Uranus is very elliptical orbits. These rings are only a fraction of the size of Saturn's rings, and were only
discovered in 1977.
MOONS
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
Uranus has _______________________ and many small moons.
DISCOVERY
 It was discovered by the _________________________________ on March
13, 1781.
URANUS' NAME AND SYMBOL
 This planet was originally named in 1781 by the British astronomer
William Herschel - he called it Georgium Sidus (meaning "the Georgian
planet") to ___________________________________. The name was later
changed to Uranus, the ________________________
____________________________
SPACECRAFT VISITS
Uranus has been ______________________________________, whose closest
approach was on January 24, 1986.
Oberon, the largest moon of
Uranus. Photo taken by
NASA's Voyager mission in
1986.
This is the symbol of the
planet Uranus.
GENERAL INFORMATION ON NEPTUNE
 Neptune is the ___________________________________ in our solar system.
 This giant, frigid planet __________________________________________________________.
 This gas giant is __________________________________________, faint rings arranged in clumps.
Neptune's blue color is caused by the methane (CH4) in its atmosphere.
 Neptune ______________________________________. Neptune was the
first planet whose existence was predicted _____________________ (the
planet Uranus's orbit was perturbed by an unknown object which
turned our to be another gas giant, Neptune).
SIZE

Neptune is about 30,775 miles (49,528 km) in diameter. This is
_________________________ of the Earth.
o If Neptune were hollow, it could hold ________________.
o Neptune is the ___________________ in our Solar System.
MASS AND GRAVITY
 Neptune's mass is about 1.02 x 1026 kg. This is
____________________________ of the Earth, but the gravity on Neptune is _______________________
of the gravity on Earth.
o A 100-pound person would weigh 119 pounds on Neptune.
LENGTH OF A DAY AND YEAR ON NEPTUNE
 Each day on Neptune ________________________ hours.
 A year on Neptune _____________________Earth years.
o Since Neptune was discovered in 1846, it has not yet
________________________________________________.
NEPTUNE'S ORBIT AND DISTANCE FROM THE SUN
 Neptune is about _______________________ from the sun than the Earth
is; it averages __________________________ from the sun.
 Occasionally, Neptune's orbit is actually ___________________________;
this is because of Pluto's ______________________________.
o During this time (_____________________________________), Neptune is actually the farthest
planet from the Sun (not Pluto). From January 21, 1979 until February 11, 1999,
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__________________________ the orbit of Neptune. Now and until __________________, Pluto is
outside the orbit of Neptune.
At ___________________ Neptune is 4,546,000,000 km from the sun, at ___________________ Neptune
is 4,456,000,000 km from the sun.
Neptune's rotational axis is _______________________ to the plane of its orbit around the Sun. This gives
Neptune seasons. Each season _________________________; the poles are in constant darkness or
sunlight for 40 years at a time.
TEMPERATURE
 The mean temperature _________________.
DISCOVERY OF NEPTUNE
 Neptune's existence was ______________________, after calculations showed perturbations in the orbit
of Uranus.
SPACECRAFT VISITS
 Neptune was visited by _________________________________. Before that visit, virtually nothing was
known about Neptune.
NEPTUNE'S NAME AND SYMBOL
 Neptune was named after the mythical ____________________. Neptune's
symbol is the fishing spear.
This is the symbol of the
planet Neptune.
GENERAL INFORMATION ON PLUTO
 Pluto is a ________________________ that usually orbits past the orbit of Neptune.
 It was classified as a dwarf planet in _____________; before that it was considered to be the
__________________________ in our solar system.
 Pluto is smaller than a lot of the other planets' moons, _________________________. Pluto is the
only "planet" in our solar system that has not been visited by our spacecraft yet. In ___________,
a spacecraft called New Horizons (launched by
__________________) will visit Pluto.
SIZE

Pluto is about ______________ in diameter. This is about
_________ the diameter of the Earth.
MASS AND GRAVITY
 Pluto's mass is about ____________________ of the Earth. The
gravity on Pluto is 8% of the gravity on Earth.
 A 100 pound person on Pluto would
_________________________________.
LENGTH OF A DAY AND YEAR ON PLUTO
 Each day on Pluto takes _____________________.
 Each year on Pluto ______________________ years.
PLUTO'S ORBIT
 Pluto is ___________________ from than the sun than
the Earth is. Pluto ranges from 2.8 to 4.6 billion miles
from the Sun. From Pluto, the sun would
____________________________ in the sky.
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ORBITAL ECCENTRICITY
 Pluto has a ________________________. Pluto also rotates about its axis in the opposite direction from
most of the other planets.
ORBITAL INCLINATION
 Pluto's orbit is tilted from the _________________________. This angle, its orbital inclination, is 17.15°.
This is the largest inclination of any of the planets.
TEMPERATURE ON PLUTO
 Pluto is _____________________. Its temperature may range from between -396°F to -378°F. The
average temperature _________________.
PLANETARY COMPOSITION
 Pluto's composition is __________________.
ATMOSPHERE
 Not much is known about Pluto's atmosphere. It is probably
mostly nitrogen with a little carbon monoxide and methane
- definitely not _______________________________.
PLUTO'S MOONS
 Pluto has one large moon, named _________________; two minscule moons were discovered in 2005.
o Although Charon is small, about 1,172 km (728 miles) in diameter, it about half of the size
_____________________________________.
o Charon was named after the _________________________________ who ferried people across
the mythological river Styx into Hades.
PLUTO'S NAME
 Pluto was named after the _____________________________, Pluto.
This is the symbol of Pluto.
MOON NOTES
I.
Our Nearest Neighbor
- Moon is the ___________ celestial object to the Earth.
- Moon is Earth’s only ___________ satellite.
- Moon appears to be about the same size as the _______ but it is _________
smaller. It appears to the same size as Sun because the moon is much
_________ to the Earth.
- Moon’s distance from Earth changes due to its _________.
- Moon shines by ___________ sunlight.
II.
Temperature
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- Temperature changes very much on the moon.
- Moon has no atmosphere and little water to absorb heat.
- Temperature in lunar darkness falls to _______ C (-274 F).
- Temperature in direct sunlight can climb to ______ C (274 F).
Mass
- Earth has 80 times more mass than Moon which causes the force of gravity to
be higher on Earth.
- Weight on Earth = 45 kg (______ lbs.)
- Weight on Moon = 7 kg (_____ lbs.)
III.
Composition of Moon.
- Moon’s most abundant element is ___________.
- Oxygen is not in the form of gas, in form of _________ compound.
- Moon contains silicon, calcium, aluminum, magnesium, iron, and other trace
elements.
- Unlike the Earth, Moon contains little _______________.
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IV.
Moon phases.
- The phase is the bright disk shape we see from Earth.
- Changes as the moon travels around the Earth.
- _____________- dark due to moon being between Earth and Sun.
- _________ Crescent moon- Moon appears to grow _______, follows new
moon.
- First quarter- 7 days after new moon, moon has traveled ____ of its orbit; rises
at noon.
- ___________ gibbous- More than ½ of moon’s bright disk shining toward
Earth.
- Full moon- ____ weeks into cycle; full bright disk.
- Occurs _________ times a year.
- Blue moon- Second full moon in one month.
- Occurs every ________ years on average.
SUMMARY MOON PHASES: new moonwaxing crescent1stquarterwaxing
gibbousfull moonwaning gibbous3rd (last) quarterwaning crescentnew moon
ECLIPSES
V.
Eclipse of sun.
- Solar eclipse- __________________________________________________.

A solar eclipse ___________________________________________________________
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VI.
Eclipse of moon.
- lunar eclipse- _________________________________________________________.

1)

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
A ___________________________________________________________________


Lunar eclipses
when the earth moves __________________________________________
occurs ________________________
sunlight to the moon is blocked by the earth, therefore, __________________________________
___________________________________
there are ___________________________________________ lunar eclipses
based on previous years, ______________________________________________________.
2)
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Solar eclipses
When the moon moves ____________________________________________
occurs _______________________________________________
earth _____________________________________________ depending on if eclipse is partial or total
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
although the sun appears ________________________________ during a solar eclipse, it is still bright
enough to ____________________________________________________
based on previous years, _________________________________________________________
Surface of the Moon:
Maria
 comes from the Latin word “sea”
 astronomers thought that the ___________ colored, _________________________________________
were bodies of water
 were formed when lava from the moon’s interior ______________________________________
Craters
 depressions in moon’s surface caused by ________________________________________________
Possible Origins of the Moon (4.5 billion years ago):
 _____________________ - an object the size of Mars ____________ with earth, debris became moon
 __________________________moon was captured by earth’s ____________, was formed elsewhere
 ______________________- a __________ of molten material was _____________________________
________________________________________________
Moon facts:
 _______________________________________
 no liquid water
 ________________________________________________, found in rocks and soil
 only natural satellite of earth
 orbits earth in ___________________________________
 earth is ________________________________________________
 tides (rise and fall of the seas) - ____________________________________________ is affected by the
moon’s gravitational pull ________________________________
 no ____________ field
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