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Our Solar System
Sun Facts
Diameter: ~870,000 miles Rotation: 25-36 days Temperature:
Sunspots 6,700F Surface 10,000F Core 27,000,000F
Facts Contains ~98% of our Solar System’s mass Could hold 1.3 million Earths Fusion of hydrogen atoms produces light & heat
Sun
Planet
A large body orbiting a central star. ‘Planetes’ is the Greek word for wanderer. New International Astronomical Union (IAU)
Definition A planet is a celestial body that
Is in orbit around the Sun, Is nearly round, Has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, and Is not a satellite (moon).
Examples Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, &
Neptune
Other Bodies
Dwarf Planet is a celestial body that Is in orbit around the Sun, Is nearly round in shape, Has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, And is not a satellite. Examples – Ceres, Pluto, & Eris (2003 UB 313)
Small Solar System Bodies All other objects, except satellites, orbiting the Sun. Examples – Comets, Asteroids, Meteoroids, Kuiper
Belt Objects etc.
Inner Planets
Mercury, Venus, Earth, & Mars Also known as the “Terrestrial
Planets” Tend to be smaller, denser, &
rockier.
Inner Planets
Mercury Data
Distance from the Sun: 36 million miles Diameter: ~3,000 miles Temperature: -280F to 800F Moons: zero Facts:
No atmosphere Craters & Cliffs Rotation perpendicular to its orbital path
Mercury
Venus Data
Distance from the Sun: 67 million miles Diameter: ~7,500 miles Temperature: 900 F (greenhouse effect) Moons: zero Facts:
Rotates from east to west A day is longer than a year! CO2 atmosphere & sulfuric acid clouds Craters & Volcanic Rock
Venus
Earth Data
Distance from the Sun: 93 million miles Diameter: ~8,000miles Temperature: -128F to 140F Moons: One Facts:
Life! Water in all 3 States Atmosphere (Nitrogen, Oxygen, & other
gases)
Earth
Mars Data
Distance from the Sun: 142 million miles Diameter: ~4,200 miles Temperature: -184F to 59F Moons: 2 Facts:
Atmosphere (CO2 & other gases)
Polar Ice Caps (frozen CO2) Olympus Mons (largest volcano)
Mars
Asteroid Belt
Asteroid Facts
Rocky, Metallic objects Orbit the sun in a “belt” Known as “minor planets” Range in size
From pebbles to Ceres formerly considered an asteroid has been
reclassified as a “Dwarf Planet” (~600 miles) Theories
Remains of a destroyed planet Planet never formed
Asteroids
Meteoroids
Small bodies that travel through SPACE.
Nasa.gov
Meteors
Meteors which enter earth’s atmosphere and burn up.
Nasa.gov
Meteorites
If meteor does not completely vaporize, it lands on earth as a meteorite.
Barringer Meteorite Crater
Outer Planets
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, & Neptune
Also known as “Gas Giants” or the “Jovian Planets”
Tend to be much larger & most are made up of gases.
Jupiter Data
Distance from the Sun: 484 million miles Diameter: ~89,000 miles Temperature:
Surface -163F Core 54,000F
Moons: 63 Facts:
Largest Planet Faint Ring System Atmospheric Clouds & Storms (Red Spot)
Jupiter
Saturn Data
Distance from the Sun: 886 million miles
Diameter: ~74,000 miles Temperature:
Surface -219F Core 27,000F
Moons: 58 Facts:
Flat at the poles Less dense than water Ring System
Saturn
Uranus Data
Distance from the Sun: 1.8 billion miles Diameter: ~32,000 miles Temperature: -330F Moons: at least 22 Facts:
Gaseous Planet (H, He, Methane) Bluish Color Orbits on its Side Faint Ring System
Uranus
Neptune Data
Distance from the Sun: 2.8 billion miles Diameter: ~30,000 miles Temperature: -330F Moons: 8 Facts:
Great dark spot Strongest winds in the solar system (1,200mph) Orbital path crosses Pluto’s Faint rings made of dust particles Composed of H, He, & Methane & a core of molten
rock
Neptune
Pluto Data
Distance from the Sun: ~4 billion miles Diameter: ~1,400 miles Temperature: -390F Moons: 3 – Charon, Hydra, Nix Facts:
Thin atmosphere freezes & falls to the surface Orbits almost on its side Orbital path crosses Neptune’s Newly defined as a “Dwarf Planet”
Dwarf Planet Pluto
Orbits of Pluto & Eris (aka 2003 UB 313)
Kuiper Belt
Kuiper Belt
Disk-shaped region past the orbit of Neptune Contains icy “Small Solar System Objects” &
“Dwarf Planets” that orbit the Sun Contains over 35,000 objects over 100 km (62
miles) in diameter Possibly where Short-Period Comets Originate Orbits of Kuiper Belt Objects may be affected
by interactions with the Gas Giants Examples – Pluto & Eris
Eris (2003 UB 313)
Discovered: July-August, 2005 Distance: >8 billion miles Diameter: At least as large as Pluto Dwarf Planet
Eris
Comet Facts
Small, fragile, irregularly shaped bodies Made of ice, dust, and gases (“dirty
snowballs”) Highly elliptical orbits around the sun Coma – surrounding cloud which grows in
size & brightness as it approaches the Sun (& melts)
Comets
Sedna Data
Distance from the Sun: ~12 billion miles Diameter: 800-1,100 miles Discovered in 2004 Facts:
Moon? Rocky? Highly Elliptical Orbit (10,000 years to orbit
the Sun)
Sedna Size Comparison
View from Sedna
Oort Cloud
In 1950, Jan Oort proposed that comets reside in a vast could at the outer reaches of the solar system.
No direct evidence of an Oort Cloud Possibly where Long-Period Comets Originate Possibly extends halfway to the next known star Recent discoveries (such as Sedna) indicate
that the Oort Cloud might contain more objects than originally thought
Pluto’s Other Satellites?
Centaurs
Nine known “Small Solar System Objects,” orbiting between Jupiter & Neptune
Unstable orbits Thought to have been part of the Kuiper
Belt at one time Examples
Chiron & Pholus