SOLAR SYSTEM

Structure of Solar System

Inner Planets

Mercury Venus

Earth Mars

• Small in size• Made of rock

and metal.• Few

satellites.• Slow

rotation.

Mercury

Mariner 10 probe visits mercury in 1974.

Surface is very much like our moon, full of craters.

Very little gravity, almost no atmosphere.

Greatest temperature changes in solar system: 430ºC ~ -170ºC

Venus Venus is covered by a thick layer of

clouds. Most of the atmosphere is composed of

CO2. Greenhouse effect has raised

temperature to 462°C. Rotates opposite of other planets.

Day is longer than year!!!

Earth

Earth is located in the “Goldilocks Zone” Not too hot, not too cold, just right (for liquid

water). Lots of water, and a thick atmosphere of

oxygen.

Mars Mars has an atmosphere of

CO2, but the atmosphere is very thin.

Temperatures range from 20°C ~ - 140°C.

Evidence of features and erosion caused by water is everywhere.

Some water is in the polar ice caps, atmosphere, and frozen in the ground.

Mars Cont.

Mars is full of extinct volcanoes. Mars’ tilted axis gives rise to seasonal

changes. NASA’s Spirit & Opportunity

Jupiter Saturn

Uranus Neptune

• Large in size.• Made of

Gas(Hydrogen, Helium).

• Rotate rapidly.

• Many satellites.

• Rings.

Jupiter Jupiter is a massive ball of hydrogen and

helium gas. The Great Red Spot is a hurricane 3x’s

the size of Earth and at least 400 years old!

Jupiter’s Moons

Io Callisto

Ganymede Europa

Saturn

Saturn, like Jupiter, is made of hydrogen and helium and is actually lighter than water.

It’s rings are formed of concentric circles of chunks of rock and ice orbiting the planet.

Titan

Uranus

Discovered in 1781 by William Herschel. Uranus is tilted on its side. Has very faint rings. Atmosphere contains methane.

Neptune

Neptune was discovered mathematically in 1846 after it became known that the orbit of Uranus was abnormal.

Has a large perpetual storm called the Great Dark Spot. Triton

Atmosphere of Hydrogen, Helium, Methane, and Ammonia

Dwarf Planets

Small rocky planets located beyond Neptune.

Most are small and very far away and so weren’t discovered until recently.

Asteroids Chunks of rock out in

space. Can be several meters or

kilometers across. May be left over planet.

Comets

Large chunks of rock and ice which orbit the sun.

The ice evaporates as it approaches the sun, leaving a tail behind.