1. By Mason EasleyNext

2. The Solar System is a collection of planets orbiting the Sun. Among these planets is Earth, the planet we call home.Earth is the third planet from the Sun. See ifyou can locate Earth on this map by clickingon the correct planet above. 3. Great job! Earth is the small blue ball located between the planets of Venus and Mars. This is where you are right now in the Solar System.Correct!Hit the Next button tocontinue your journey! Next 4. Oops! Sorry, but that is incorrect.Please click the arrow to try again. Go Back 5. The SunThe Sun is the largestobject in the Solar System,and the closest star to Earth.All of the planets, includingEarth orbit this massive objectthat provides heat and energythat powers everything from theweather, the tides, to even lifeitself. Without the Sun, Earth andthe other planets would be lifelespheres in space.Click on the Sun to learnmore about it, or clickthe arrow to continueyour journey. Next 6. MercuryMercury is the closestplanet to the Sun. It hasan orbit of 88 days, andits surface is heavilycratered. In many ways, itresembles Earths moon.The side that faces the Sunis extremely hot, yet itsnight side is extremelycold. Mercury is thesmallest planet in theSolar System. Click on Mercury to see it in motion, or click the arrow to continue your journey! Next 7. VenusVenus was once considered Earthstwin due to its size and proximity toour home planet. Often associated wbeauty because of its brilliantappearance in the evening sky, it waslater discovered to have an uglyinterior. The planet is a massivefurnace, with temperatures thatactually exceed that of the surfaceMercury.Click on the planet to learn moreabout the Atmosphere, Surface, andInterior of the planet. Or, click onthe arrow to continue your journeyNext 8. Earth is the third planet from theSun, and the largest planet in theEarth inner Solar System. Earth is the onlyknown planet that contains life. Froma distance, the planet appears as ashimmering blue ball. This is becauseof its massive oceans that cover themajority (71%) of its surface.Earth is a highly active planet. Tidesand currents keep its large oceans inmotion. Magma beneath its crustcauses continents to move from oneside of the planet to another. Varyingweather conditions shape and reshapits surface.Click the planet to learn more, orclick the arrow to continue yourjourney.Next 9. Mars Mars is the final inner planet. Famous for its red color, and proximity to Eart Mars has long been a target of human exploration due to its distance from Earth, favorable rotation and gravity, a its fairly stable surface. Scientists theorize that at one time, life may have existed on its surface. Recent discoveries of frozen water and possibl fossilized remains of simple organisms has only enhanced that belief. Mars wil undoubtedly play a major part in futur human space exploration. Click on the planet to learn more, or cl the arrow to complete you journey. Next 10. The SunThe Sun is the largestobject in the Solar System,and the closest star to Earth.All of the planets, includingEarth orbit this massive objectthat provides heat and energythat powers everything from theweather, the tides, to even lifeitself. Without the Sun, Earth andthe other planets would be lifelespheres in space.Click on the Sun to learnmore about it, or clickthe arrow to continueyour journey.Next 11. As mentioned before, theMercuryentire surface of Mercuryis heavily cratered. Due toa lack of atmosphere,some of the craters aremillions of years old.Though it appears to bespinning quickly in thispicture, the average dayon Mercury lasts 59 earthdays! Click on the arrow to continue your journey!Go Back 12. Venus Venus was once considered Earths twin due to its size and proximity to our home planet. Often associated w beauty because of its brilliant appearance in the evening sky, it was later discovered to have an uglyAtmosphere interior. The planet is a massive furnace, with temperatures that actually exceed that of the surface Surface Mercury. Click on the planet to learn moreInterior about the Atmosphere, Surface, and Interior of the planet. Or, click on the arrow to continue your journeyNext 13. Venus Venus is covered by a thick layer of cloudThese clouds are made mostly of sulfuricacid and are very fast moving, going upto 220 miles per hour (350 km per hour).The clouds rotate 60 times faster than thplanet rotates. The clouds circle Venus infour Earth days; the planet rotates arounits axis in 243 Earth days. These quickly-moving clouds distribute the heat aroundthe planet, making the night side hot alsoV-shaped cloud patterns are visible in themiddle latitudes when the clouds areexamined in ultraviolet light.Go Back 14. VenusThese are actual images from thesurface of Venus taken fromthe Russian probe Venara 9 whichreached Venus surface in 1976. Itwas the first probe to show imagesfrom another planets surface. Lateprobes mapped out Venus surface,revealing a planet mostly shaped bvolcanic activity.Venus surface temperature is veryhot, with the average temperature oabout 864 degrees. Needless to say,nothing can survive on Venus hotsurface. Go Back 15. VenusLike all planets within the innerSolar System, Venus is probablyCrust made up of a rocky surface, a largemantle, and a metal core. However, sinno probes have actually studied VenusMantleInterior, the planets interior composiis largely unknown. Due to itscomparative size to the Earth, it is Core assumed that Venus interior is similarFuture probes will solve this mystery Go Back 16. Mars Mars is the final inner planet. Famousfor its red color, and proximity to EartMars has long been a target of humanexploration due to its distance fromEarth, favorable rotation and gravity, aits fairly stable surface.Scientists theorize that at one time, lifemay have existed on its surface. Recentdiscoveries of frozen water and possiblfossilized remains of simple organismshas only enhanced that belief. Mars wilExploration undoubtedly play a major part in futurhuman space exploration.Click on the planet to learn more, or clthe arrow to complete you journey.Next 17. Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the largest planet in the Earth inner Solar System. Earth is the only known planet that contains life. From a distance, the planet appears as a shimmering blue ball. This is because of its massive oceans that cover the majority (71%) of its surface. Earth is a highly active planet. Tides and currents keep its large oceans inClimatemotion. Magma beneath its crust causes continents to move from one side of the planet to another. VaryingThe Moon weather conditions shape and reshap its surface. Click the planet to learn more, or click the arrow to continue your journey. Next 18. EarthEarth (and most planets) havean elliptical orbit (as opposedto a circular orbit). The Earthsorbit lasts for 365.24 days, andtheplanet spins on its axis every24 hours. The Earths distancefrom the Sun creates a fairlytemperate climate that hasallowed life to flourish on itssurface. Scientists are nowsearching the cosmos lookingfor planets in positions similarto the Earths to find planetsthat can support life. Go Back 19. The Earth has the widestEarthrange of climates withinthe solar system. Due toits temperate climate, theplanet has numerousclimate zones. Life existson every portion of theplanet. From the colddepths of the ocean, to thescorching desert sands.Life has existed on thesurface of Earth formillions of years. Evolutionand extinction has causedcountless species of animaland plant life to appear, anddie out.Go Back 20. The Moon is the Earths onlyThe Moon natural satellite, and is the most prominent object in the sky besides the Sun. The Moon has played a vital part in Earths development. Not only has the Moons gravity slowed down Earths spin, but the Moons gravity also manipulates the tides (along with the Sun). It is theorized that without the Moons influence, life would be far different and far more violent on Earth. Some scientists even believe that life could not exist on Earth without the Moons influence. Click on the Moon to learn more, or click the arrow to go back. Go Back 21. The Moon is the Earths onlyThe Moon natural satellite, and is the most prominent object in the sky besides the Sun. The Moon has played a vital part in Earths development. Not only has the Moons gravity slowed down Earths spin, but the Moons gravity also manipulates the tides (along with the Sun). It is theorizedPhases that without the Moons influence, life would be far different and far more violent on Earth. SomeTidesscientists even believe that life could not exist on Earth without the Moons influence. Click on the Moon to learn more, or click the arrow to go back. Go Back 22. The Moon On the surface, people see the Moon in phases. Phases are caused by the Suns light, and the Earths shadow. The lunar are as follows; New Moon, Waxing Crescent, Quarter, Gibbous, Waning Crescent, and Full. The Dark phase is when the Moon cannot be seen on the surface.Go Back 23. The Moon The Moon is tidal locked with the Earth. In other words, the Moon does not spin on its axis like the Earth does. Because of this, only one side of the Moon Is seen on the Earths surface. The dark side of the Moon is shrouded in darkness, and was only recently explored by astronauts. On Earth, we experience tides. Tides are when the Moons gravity pulls on the Earth oceans, causing a rise or fall of sea level t lasts about six hours. There are two low ti and two low tides every day. The picture to The left shows how this works. Go Back 24. Mars The Martian surface is a barren desert full of dust and large rocks. Huge dust storms roll over the surface, and the largest mountains in the solar system dominate the landscape. The temperature on the Martian surface is cold. Averaging about - 67f. However, temperatures at the Equator can reach as high as 95f. Mars thin atmosphere causes these temperature extremes. Due to large amounts of human exploration, Mars has one of most photographed surfaces outside of Earth. Go Back 25. Mars The belief in life on the red planet has been a powerful theme throughout popular culture for decades, and is a large reason the current push for Martian exploration is strong. The picture to the left is a map from the 1880s depicting what the Martian surface was believed to be like. The lines on the Martian Surface were once believed to be canals created by an advanced race o aliens. Future space exploration de- bunked myths about an advanced civilization living on Mars. Go Back 26. Martian exploration has beenMars ongoing. Currently, several probes are orbiting the planet, or on the surface mapping it. Future manned trips to the red planet are in the works by numerous countries. Most agree that the first manned Martian mission could take place as early as 2030. One of the major hurdles is the question of long-term life liv outside of Earths gravity. Mars is about half the size of Earth, and thu has less gravity, and it takes about six months to reach Mars in modern spacecraft.Go Back 27. Beyond Mars lies the outer Solar System. These planets are farAnd beyond. different than the ones we just explored. Instead of rocky surfaces, these worlds are massive gas giants, surrounded by dozens of moons, and covered with huge swirling clouds of storms. We will explore these worlds at a later time. Their size and beauty showcase the wonders of our solar system. From the rocky deserts to firey surfaces o lava, to brilliant blue oceans, our So system is full of amazing things to see and explore. Until next time, take a look up into The sky. You will enjoy what you seeGo Back StartOver