1 of 9 © Boardworks Ltd 2015

2 of 9 © Boardworks Ltd 2015

Introducing the Solar System

How do these objects interact?

The Solar System is made up of various celestial objects:

the Sun

the planets

moons

asteroids

comets.

The Sun is a star – a massive ball of hot glowing gas. It has the strongest gravitational field in the Solar System. All the other celestial bodies orbit around it.

3 of 9 © Boardworks Ltd 2015

Labelling the planets

4 of 9 © Boardworks Ltd 2015

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union defined a planet as: “a celestial object that orbits the Sun, has enough mass to be spherical, and has cleared the area around its orbit of objects.”

Is Pluto a planet?

This photograph shows Pluto and its moon, Charon. Pluto’s orbit is surrounded by smaller objects that have not been cleared by its gravitational field.

Pluto and the other ‘smaller’ planet-like objects such as Eris and Ceres have now been reclassified as Dwarf Planets.

5 of 9 © Boardworks Ltd 2015

Relative size of the Universe

6 of 9 © Boardworks Ltd 2015

The distances between stars, and even between objects in our solar system, are huge. It is cumbersome to use m or km.

What is a light year?

1.50 × 108

2.4 × 1019

9.5 × 1017

4.0 × 1013

Alternative measurements for distance are used instead: the most common is the light year.

1 light year is the distance that light travels in one year.

To Sun

Distance:

To nearest star (Proxima Centauri)Diameter of Milky Way

To Andromeda galaxy

km light years

4.2

100,000

2,500,000

8.3light

minutes

7 of 9 © Boardworks Ltd 2015

Data on the Solar System

8 of 9 © Boardworks Ltd 2015

Solar System quiz

9 of 9 © Boardworks Ltd 2015

Want to see more?

To see more of what Boardworks can offer, why not order a

full presentation, completely free? Head to:

www.boardworks.co.uk/sciencepresentation

This is only a sample of one of thousands of

Boardworks Science presentations.