the solar system a brief tour by students of fiona and mark
TRANSCRIPT
• Closest to the Sun• Small planet• No atmosphere• Huge temperature differences• Many craters• Mercury has been known about since before
Christ was born (3rd millenium BC)• Has been visited by ONE spacecraft only
Mercury
Venus• Sister to Earth
• Evening Star
• Deadly planet
• Thick clouds
• Known about since pre-historic times
• Visited by more than 20 spacecraft
Earth and the Moon• Water world
• Rich ecosystem
• Large moon
• Earth third planet from the sun
• Moon known about since pre-historic times
• Moon is Earth’s only natural satellite
Mars• Half the size of Earth• Thin atmosphere• Rusty rocks• 2 tiny moons• Life on Mars?• Fourth planet from the sun• Fifth largest planet• Known since pre-historic times• Very interesting terrain
Jupiter• Biggest planet• Gas giant• Great Red Spot• 60 moons• Fourth brightest object in the sky• Known since pre-historic times• Visited by 6 spacecraft• Regularly observed by the Hubble Space
Telescope
Saturn• Second largest planet
• Gas giant
• Ring system
• Biggest moon – Titan
• Sixth planet from the Sun
• Known since pre-historic times
• Visited by four spacecraft
Uranus and Neptune• Uranus – no visible features• Seventh planet from the Sun and third
largest• Discovered by telescope in 1781• Neptune – Great Dark Spot• Eigthth planet from the Sun and fourth
largest• First observed in 1846
Pluto• Smallest planet
• Very distant
• No spacecraft have visited
• One moon – Charon
• Discovered in 1930 by accident
• Surface temperature varies between -235 c and -210 c
Planets and their Moons
Planets closest to the Sun
Mercury Venus Earth Mars
No Moon No Moon The Moon Phobos and Deimos
Planets and their MoonsPlanets furthest from
the sun
Saturn Uranus
Titan
Pluto
Ophelia Charon
Jupiter
Europa
Ganymede
Neptun
Cordelia
Triton
NaiadRhea
Bibliography• www.nineplanets.org/ “The nine
planets of the Solar System Tour”
• www.solarviews.com/eng/homepage. htm “Views of the Solar System”
• www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/our_solar_system/solar_system.html
• Google.’Solar System’ News results for Solar System – view today’s top stories