The Solar SystemBy: Emily Fulcher and Lindsey Zumbro

The Solar SystemThe Solar System consists of eight planets.These planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.Pluto used to be a planet but now it’s classified as a dwarf planet.The Earth is centered in our galaxy.But in some other ga

Asteroids The solar system contains asteroids which

are small bodies that are to be left over from the beginning of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago.

They are rocky objects with round or irregular shapes up to several hundred km across, but most are much smaller.

Meteors

Meteors are a streak of light, usually only lasting for a few seconds.People usually know them as “shooting stars” or “falling stars”, although they are not stars.They are caused by the entry of small pieces of rock, dust, or metal from space into the atmosphere at extremely high speeds.

Comets

A comet is an icy body that releases gas and dust.Most comets seen from Earth travel around the sun in long, oval orbits.Astronomers believe that comets are leftover debris from a collection of gas, ice, rocks, and dust that formed from other planets.

Moons

The moon is the only place we’ve visited besides Earth.Uranus has 21 moons. It is the planet with the most moons.Some planets don’t even have moons like Mercury and Venus.Jupiter is the next planet with the most moons. It has 16.

Stars

Stars are classified into six groups. These groups are blue supergiants, red giants, main sequence, white dwarfs, red dwarfs, and black dwarfs.Our sun is the biggest star and is classified as main sequence.The two main characteristics of stars are luminosity and temperature.

Jovian vs. Terrestrial

Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are the terrestrial planets.Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are the Jovian planets.The Jovian planets are less dense than the terrestrials and they have more moons.Also, they are larger in size.The terrestrials have a weaker magnetic field.