Our Solar System

The Sun● The sun is the biggest,

brightest, and hottest object in our solar system.

● The sun is an ordinary star.

● The sun is made of about 70% hydrogen and 28% helium.

● It makes up almost 99% of our solar system’s mass!

The Inner Planets

The Outer Planets

THE INNER PLANETS● Rocky, cratered surfaces ● smaller than outer planets ● closer to the Sun ● very few moons compared to the outer

planets

Mercury(Roman messenger god)

● Mercury is solid and is covered with craters.

● has no atmosphere, but water vapour has been found.

● The smallest planet.

Venus (Roman goddess of beauty) ● It’s almost the same size

as Earth. ● The surface is rocky and

very hot with volcanoes and mountains.

● The atmosphere completely hides the surface and traps the heat.

● Days are longer than years!

Earth● Earth is the fifth largest planet and the third

from the sun. ● Liquid covers almost 75 percent of the Earth’s

surface. ● The Earth has one moon.

Mars(Roman god of war)

● Mars is the fourth planet from the sun.

● Mars has a thin atmosphere that contains mostly carbon dioxide.

● Mars has two small moons, rust in the soil, and maybe life.

THE OUTER PLANETS● Gassy atmosphere with no solid surface ● Very large compared to inner ● Far away from the Sun ● Have rings ● Have numerous moons

Jupiter(Roman ruler of gods/goddesses)

● The largest planet. ● Gas giant. It is a ball

of liquid surrounded by gas – mostly hydrogen and helium.

● The Great Red Spot, a huge storm of swirling gas, has lasted for hundreds of years.

● 60+ moons

Saturn (Roman god of agriculture)

● Saturn is the second largest gas giant planet. ● 60+ known moons. ● Saturn’s rings are not solid; they are composed

of small particles. ● The rings are very thin. Though they’re 250,000

km or more in diameter, they’re less than 1 km thick.

Uranus(Greek god of the sky)

● Ice giant ● Looks blue-green

because of a methane in its atmosphere.

● 27 known moons. ● Has a faint ring

system. ● Rotates on a 90o tilt!

Neptune(Roman god of the sea)

● Ice giant ● temperature of

-353oC. ● Like Uranus, the

methane gives Neptune its colour.

Dwarf Planets● There are 5 bodies to small to be planets ● They orbit (but not circular) the sun ● They have a spherical shape

eg Pluto, Eris, Makemake, Haumea, Ceres

Other Bodies● Asteroids -Rocky / metallic objects that

orbit the sun (Asteroid belt, or Kuiper Belt)

Other Bodies● Meteoroid- small rock/metallic pieces

drawn in by the Earth’s gravity.

Chicxulub Crater, Mexico 65 mya

Other Bodies● Comets-chunks of rocks and ice that orbit

the sun. eg. Halley’s comet (76 yrs)

Hale-Bopp (2380 yrs)