our solar system. your parents’ solar system 21 st century solar system

Our Solar SystemOur Solar System

Your Parents’ Solar Your Parents’ Solar SystemSystem

2121stst Century Solar Century Solar SystemSystem

The Solar System: The Solar System: List of Ingredients List of Ingredients

IngredientIngredient

SunSun

JupiterJupiter

Other planetsOther planets

Everything elseEverything else

Percent of total mass: Percent of total mass:

________________

________________

________________

________________

Our Solar SystemOur Solar System

Our solar system is made up of:

• ______________• ______________• ______________• ______________• ______________•

The SunThe Sun

– Mostly Hydrogen & HeliumMostly Hydrogen & Helium– ~~______________

• Shines because it is hot:Shines because it is hot:– Surface Temp ~Surface Temp ~__________– Mostly Visible, UV & IR lightMostly Visible, UV & IR light

• Kept hot by nuclear fusion in Kept hot by nuclear fusion in its core:its core:

– Builds Helium from Hydrogen Builds Helium from Hydrogen fusion.fusion.

• ___________________

Inner PlanetsInner Planets

The inner four ““_____”_____” planets at the center of the solar system are:

• ______________

• ______________

• ______________

• ______________

MercuryMercury

• Planet nearest the sun

• Second smallest planet

• Covered with craters

• Has no moons or rings

• ____________________________

• ________________________________

VenusVenus

• Sister planet to Earth• Has no moons or rings• Hot, ______ Temperature, thick atmosphere• Brightest object in sky besides sun and moon

(looks like bright star)• _________________________________________

_____________________________

EarthEarth• Third planet from sun

• ________________________________________________________

• Atmosphere composed of composed of Nitrogen (_____), Oxygen (_____), and other gases (____).

MarsMars• Fourth planet from sun

• Appears as bright reddish color in the night sky

• Surface features volcanoes and huge dust storms

• Has 2 moons: Phobos and Deimos

Outer PlanetsOuter Planets

The outer planets are considered “__________”__________” planets:

• ______________

• ______________

• ______________

• ______________

JupiterJupiter

• Largest planet in solar system

• Brightest planet in sky

• 60+ moons, 5 visible from Earth

• Strong magnetic field

• Giant red spot

SaturnSaturn• 6th planet from sun

• Beautiful set of rings

• 31 moons

• Largest moon, Titan,

• Easily visible in the night sky

UranusUranus• 7th planet from sun• Has a faint ring system• 27 known moons• Covered with clouds• ________________________

_________________________________

NeptuneNeptune

• 8th planet from sun• Discovered through math• 7 known moons• Triton largest moon• Great Dark Spot thought to

be a hole, similar to the hole in the ozone layer on Earth

Outermost Outermost Dwarf PlanetDwarf Planet

• Pluto, the outermost , is a small solid icy planet is smaller than the Earth's Moon.

PlutoPluto• 9th planet from sun

(usually)

• Never visited by spacecraft

• Orbits very slowly

• Moon, Charon, is very close to Pluto and about the same size

AsteroidsAsteroids

• Small bodies • Believed to be left over

from the beginning of the solar system billions of years ago

• 100,000 asteroids lie in belt between Mars and Jupiter

• Largest asteroids have been given names

CometsComets

• Small icy bodies

• Travel past the Sun

• Give off gas and dust as they pass by