THE SOLAR SYSTEM Michelle Marin

1 Sun1 Solar System

8 Planets

G E N E R A L I N F O.

• Revolution: The circling of a smaller object around a larger object

• Rotation: The spinning of an object on its axis.

• How many planets have been found in our solar system?

• There are 8 planets in our solar system. Dwarf Planets are not considered planets.

• Which planets are the inner planets?

• Inner planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.

• Which planets are the outer planets? Outer planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

G E N E R A L I N F O.• What is the difference between inner and outer planets?

• Inner planets are solid, rock spheres. They are closer to the sun and inside the asteroid belt. They are usually smaller than outer planets.

• Outer planets are made up of gas and has rings. They are outside the asteroid belt and are usually a lot bigger than inner planets.

• Why are more craters found on the inner planets compared to the outer planets?

• This is because in the first 600 million years of the inner planets’ existence, they were hit with many asteroids.

• Orbit: A specific path followed by a planet, a satellite, a comet, etc.

• Three requirements to be considered a planet are that it has to be orbiting the sun, it must have enough mass to create its own gravity and make the planet a sphere, and to have a clear orbit so that it is not confused to similar objects also orbiting the sun almost the same size as it, and nearly the same distance from the sun.

• Dwarf Planet: Class of objects which meet the first two requirements of being a planet, but does not meet the third requirement.

• The three dwarf planets are Pluto, Ceres, and Eris.

M E R C U R Y #1• Mercury has a very small atmosphere

because Mercury is very close the sun and Mercury’s surface is hotter than any other planet or moon in the solar system. Mercury’s surface during the day can be up to 427 degrees celsius.

• The two elements found in Mercury’s atmosphere are helium and sodium.

• The three processes that shaped mercury was impact cratering which is when big object hit the planet’s surface and made craters. Then, volcanism, which is when volcanoes erupt and lava spreads on the surface, and lastly, the tectonic movement, when the tectonic plates in the planet’s crust shifts for the cooling and contracting of lava.

V E N U S #2• It is called the evening star because it shines brighter

than other planets because the cover of clouds that venus has reflects light really well.

• Two elements found in the atmosphere is Carbon Dioxide and Sulfuric Acid.

• Retrograde Rotation: When it rotates really slowly in a clockwise direction, which is an opposite trait in the other planets.

• A day is longer than a year because one rotation takes 243 Earth days, and a Venusian year is roughly 225 Earth days.

• This is because since Venus rotates clockwise, the sun will first hit the west and then as it rotates, it will set in the east.

• It is the hottest planet in our solar system because the carbon dioxide creates a greenhouse effect that raises the heat up to over 400°C

E A R T H #3• Earth’s atmosphere is made up of 21% oxygen, 78%

nitrogen, 0.9% argon, and 0.1% water vapor, carbon dioxide, neon, methane, krypton, helium, xenon, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone.

• The atmosphere protects us from harmful radiation that comes from the sun. It also protects us from meteors because the amount of friction between the atmosphere and the meteor, the meteorite burns up before it hits the surface.

• The rotational tilt of Earth has an angle of 23.5 degrees.

• The magnetic field is caused by the quick rotation with the molten iron-nickel core causes the magnetic field.

• The satellite of Earth is the moon.

M A R S #4• Scientists found that some meteorites found on Earth are

from Mars, so they are studying the meteorites for any proof of bacteria or other life signs that might have existed on Mars.

• The planet seems to be red because the surface is covered with rocks and soil which has a lot of iron-laden clay. The iron makes the planet appear red.

• The Olympus Mons is the a very big volcano located on Mars. It is over 600 kilometers wide and the height is roughly 26 kilometers!

• The two satellites, or moons, of Mars are called Phobos and Deimos. They each have a very weird shape so they are thought to just be asteroids that were caught in the gravitational pull of Mars.

• The main element of Mars’s atmosphere is carbon dioxide.

J U P I T E R #5• Since Jupiter’s rotation is fast, it causes the planet to be

more flattened, therefore it is not perfectly spherical which leads to the bulging equator.

• Jupiter’s atmosphere is made up of hydrogen, helium, sulfur and nitrogen.

• The Giant Red Spot is a very huge storm that has been there since Jupiter was first found.

• Jupiter has a total of 63 moons. There are 50 named, and 13 not named yet.

• Io, one of Jupiter’s moons, is interesting because Io is volcanically active and the surface temperature of Io is greater than any other planet or moon in the solar system.

S A T U R N #6• Saturn’s atmosphere is made up of hydrogen and helium.

• Saturn’s rings was probably formed from particles which was from the separating of satellites, or moons.

• The rings are made up of water ice and dust.

• Saturn would be able to float on water because saturn has a really low density, which is lower than any other planet in our Solar System.

• The Seasons last for over 7 years.

U R A N U S #7• Uranus’s rotation is different

since it’s tilted 98 degrees so it appears that it is rotating sideways

• The atmosphere is made up of hydrogen, helium and methane.

• Uranus has 27 known satellites that are located inside and outside the rings.

N E P T U N E #8• Neptune’s atmosphere is made up of

ammonia, helium and methane.

• Neptune has thirteen known satellites.

• Triton is the largest moon of neptune. Because of the fact that Triton has an orbit that goes the opposite way than the other satellites, Triton’s density and what it is made up of, scientists believe that Triton was caught in Neptune’s gravitational pull, and that it is not one of Neptune’s natural satellites.

P L U T O • The 3 moons of Pluto are called

Charon, Nix and Hydra.

• Scientists learned using a spectroscope that Pluto has methane frost.

• Charon is really close to Pluto. Pluto’s atmosphere seems to expand and include Charon in it’s atmosphere so people speculate that they might share an atmosphere.

Dwarf

C E R E S • It takes 4.6 Earth years for

Ceres to orbit the sun once.

• It was once considered an asteroid because it was surrounded by asteroids. It was known as the largest asteroid in the asteroid belt.

• On the surface of Ceres you can find a mixture of water ice, carbonates and clays.

Dwarf

E R I S • The original name of Eris

is Xena.

• It takes 557 Earth years for Eris to revolve around the sun once.

• Eris’ moon is called Dysnomia.

• It is not considered to be a planet because it does not meet one of the requirements which is have a cleared out orbit.

Dwarf

T H E E N DBibliography:

http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level2/ceres.html

http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/ Pictures