Transcript
Page 1: The Solar System: Planets, Stars and Moons orbits energymiddleschoolesl.weebly.com/uploads/3/8/2/6/3826849/... · The Solar System: Planets, Stars and Moons Solar System Sun The solar

  1  

The Solar System: Planets, Stars and Moons Solar System Sun The solar system is the sun and everything that orbits or moves around the sun. Planets move around the sun. The solar system is more than four (4) billion (4,000,000,000) years old. There are many other solar systems.

The sun is the star in the middle of our solar system. It is made of gas: 72% hydrogen (H) and 28% helium (He). The sun is a million times bigger than the earth. The sun gives energy to the earth. We need the sun to live. The sun is 92.96 millions (92,960,000) miles or 149.6 million (149,600,000) kilometers from the earth. It takes eight (8) minutes for the sun’s light to get to the earth.

Planet / Planets Star / Stars

A planet is a large ball of rock or gas. (rock) (gas) A planet is a celestial body that orbits the sun. “Orbits” means to move around. “Celestial” means belongs to the universe or the heavens. There are eight planets in the solar system. Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are made of rock. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are made of gas.

Stars are made of very hot gas. The sun is the nearest star to the earth. Stars make light and energy. Stars are different colors and sizes. Big or large stars are blue. Medium size starts like the sun are yellow. Smaller stars are red. Also, stars are 1 (one) to 10 (ten) billion years old.

Page 2: The Solar System: Planets, Stars and Moons orbits energymiddleschoolesl.weebly.com/uploads/3/8/2/6/3826849/... · The Solar System: Planets, Stars and Moons Solar System Sun The solar

  2  

Comets and Asteroids Moons

A comet is a ball of ice and dust. Dust is tiny pieces or particles of dirt. Comets orbit or move the sun. The comet’s “tail” of ice and dust points away from the sun.

(ice) (dust)

Asteroids are pieces of rock and metal. They orbit or move around the sun.

Moon

Moons orbit or move around planets. The earth has one moon. The moon looks bright. It reflects the light from the sun.

A moon is a celestial body. It orbits around a planet. It is a natural (found in nature) satellite of a planet. A satellite orbits or moves around a planet.

Phases of the moon: We see the part of the moon the lit by

the sun. The Earth / The World Galaxy Milky Way

We live on the planet earth. The earth has life – humans, plants, and animals. We can grow and reproduce. The earth’s atmosphere has nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O2). We need oxygen to live. The earth has water. We need water to live.

Atmosphere is different gases that surround a planet. The atmosphere protects life. The atmosphere is called “air.”

A galaxy is a very large group of stars, planets, gases and dust. Every galaxy has many solar systems. The earth is part of the Milky Way galaxy. There are millions of galaxies in the universe. The universe is everything in space: planets, stars and galaxies.

Page 3: The Solar System: Planets, Stars and Moons orbits energymiddleschoolesl.weebly.com/uploads/3/8/2/6/3826849/... · The Solar System: Planets, Stars and Moons Solar System Sun The solar

  3  

The Movement of the sun, earth and moon Constellations axis

The sun is at the center of the solar system. The sun rotates or spins on its axis. An axis is an imaginary line that objects turn around. The earth rotates (spins) on its axis. This is every 24 hours or one day. The earth rotates and revolves around the sun. Revolve is to move in a circle. The earth completes its orbit around the sun in 365 days (one year). This is the revolution of the earth.

This movement is a cycle. The moon rotates (spins) on its axis. The moon revolves or orbits around the earth. The moon and earth revolve around the sun.

When stars make patterns, we call the patterns constellations. The patterns look like animals or people. The constellation Orion is the name of a person in a Greek myth. Orion was a great hunter. In the constellation, Orion wears a belt.

We can see Orion from the late fall to early spring or in the winter.

Page 4: The Solar System: Planets, Stars and Moons orbits energymiddleschoolesl.weebly.com/uploads/3/8/2/6/3826849/... · The Solar System: Planets, Stars and Moons Solar System Sun The solar

  4  

The Eight Planets The Eight Planets The four Inner Planets are made mostly or rock. They are called terrestrial or like the Earth. Planet Features Mercury

o First planet from the sun o Closets planet to the sun o Very hot and dry o Covered with holes

(craters) o Smallest planet o No moon

o Second planet from the sun

o Covered with clouds of poison gases

o Brightest planet o Hottest planet o No water; No moon

Venus

Earth

o Third planet from the sun o The blue planet (water) o Best planet for humans

(oxygen, water, temperature)

o Has land and sea (water) o One moon

o Fourth planet from the sun

o The red planet (red, rocky surface)

o Colder than earth o Highest mountains o Two (2) moons

Mars

The four Outer Planets are made mostly of gases. They are called Jovian or like Jupiter. Planet Features Jupiter

o Fifth planet from the sun

o Largest planet o Very windy o Spins the fastest o Sixty-seven moons

o Sixth planet from the sun

o Lightest (not dense) o Has bright rings

made of dust, rocks and ice

o Sixty-two moons

Saturn

Uranus

o Seventh planet from the sun

o Has think, dark rings made of dust

o Coldest planet o Twenty-seven (27)

moons o Eights planet from

the sun o Windy & icy o Longest storms

(may last hundreds of years)

o Thirteen (13) moons

Neptune

Page 5: The Solar System: Planets, Stars and Moons orbits energymiddleschoolesl.weebly.com/uploads/3/8/2/6/3826849/... · The Solar System: Planets, Stars and Moons Solar System Sun The solar

  5  

Gravity Gravity: Gravity is a force that pulls objects toward each other. We do not know what causes gravity. We know what gravity does. Gravity holds us on the ground. If there is no gravity, people float.

holds floats

Planet Weight Earth 70 lbs.

Mercury 26 lbs. Venus 63 lbs. Mars 26 lbs.

Jupiter 177 lbs. Saturn 74 lbs.

Matter: Everything is made up of matter. Matter is anything we can touch. People are a body of matter. The earth is a body of matter. The more matter equals (=) the bigger the object or thing. Mass: Mass is how heavy something is without gravity. The mass of an object or person does not change on earth or in space. A big mass equals (=) harder to move or stop. Mass is measured in kilograms (kg). Weight: Weight is the pull of gravity on an object. Weight is how heavy an object is with gravity. In the U.S., weight is in pounds (lbs.) Scientists measure weight in Newtons (N).

My weight in pounds ÷ 2.2 = _________ kg My mass is _____________kg

Page 6: The Solar System: Planets, Stars and Moons orbits energymiddleschoolesl.weebly.com/uploads/3/8/2/6/3826849/... · The Solar System: Planets, Stars and Moons Solar System Sun The solar

  6  

 


Top Related