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