Our Solar System

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Recognize the major common characteristics of all planets and compare/contrast the properties of inner and outer planets.

Distinguish among the following objects of the Solar System — Sun, planets, moons, asteroids, comets — and identify Earth’s position in it..

Inner and Outer Planets

INNER PLANETS

Mercury Venus Earth Mars

OUTER PLANETS

Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune

DWARF PLANET Pluto

MERCURY The closest planet to the sun.

Gets extremely hot during the day.

VENUS The second closest planet to the sun. The

diameter of Venus is similar to Earth

EARTH The third planet from the sun.

Called the Blue Planet because of the liquid water on its surface.

MARS The fourth planet from the sun.

Called the Red Planet because its surface is reddish in color.

CHARACTERISTICS OF ASTEROIDS

Small celestial bodies that revolve around the Sun

Made up of rocks and metals

There are millions of asteroids

Found mostly in the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter

JUPITERThe largest planet in our

solar system.

SATURN Planet with the obvious rings.

The second largest planet in our solar system.

URANUSThe seventh planet from the sun.

Nicknamed the Ice Planet.NEPTUNE

The eighth planet from the sun.

PLUTOSmaller than any of the official planets.

Classified as a dwarf planet.

Order of the Planets

Sun

Mercury

VenusEarth

JupiterSaturn

Pluto Uranus

Neptune Mars

CHARACTERISTICS OF COMETS

Small celestial bodies that revolve around the Sun

Made up of ice, dust, and small rocks

Vaporize when they come into close proximity with the Sun, forming a tail.

There are only 3,572 known comets.

Comets are formed in the solar system beyond the dwarf planet, Pluto.